America to Keep Iwo Jima Name

By: fedweek

So far as the Committee on Foreign Names, under the U.S. Board on Geographic Names is concerned, the Pacific island of Iwo Jima will continue to be called just that on U.S. maps. The Japanese government changed the name of the island back to Iwo To on June 18. It had been mistakenly identified as Iwo Jima by Japanese officers more than 60 years ago when Japanese forces arrived on the small island to defend it against American attack. It became the scene of one of the Marine Corps’ bloodiest battles of World War II. During the battle, it provided the setting for the famous flag-raising which is represented today by the Marine Corps War Memorial located near Arlington National Cemetery. Both Iwo Jima and Iwo To mean “Sulphur Island” in English.