Iwo Jima sand souvenirs grate on Japanese sensibilities

The 1950 Hollywood war film, “The Sands of Iwo Jima,” starred John Wayne in the lead role of Marine Sergeant John Stryker, who is killed in action after leading the assault up Mt Suribachi. Wayne received an Academy Award nomination for his performance.

The film, produced by Republic Pictures, also included appearances by three survivors of the six servicemen who had actually taken part in Joe Rosenthal’s famous photo of the flag-raising atop Mt Suribachi. As did the actual American flag that appeared at the film’s end, on loan from the U.S. Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, Virginia.

The scene shifts to June 2008. Hideya Yamamoto, the Washington bureau chief of the Sankei Shimbun, raises the U.S. government’s tendency to show insensitivity over Japanese concerns, such as its unilateral decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

But the main thrust of Yamamoto’s editorial concerns his dismay at finding containers of sand from Iwo Jima being offered for sale at the gift shop outside the Marine Corps Museum for $25. The relics include a certificate of authenticity attesting that the sand had been extracted by a high-ranking retired Marine officer who visited the island during a ceremony in observance of the battle’s 50th anniversary in 1995.

Yamamoto also found more Iwo Jima sand—which claimed to have been extracted in 2005—being sold on a web auction site for over $100.

The island, which is administered by the Tokyo government, is populated by a small detachment of the Japan Self Defense Forces and limits visitors mainly to family members of deceased soldiers and the media. Its volcanic black sand, called “uzura seki” in Japanese, is regarded as consecrated soil, imbued with the blood of 20,703 Japanese servicemen who perished in the six week-long 1945 battle. (The U.S. suffered 6,821 dead and 19,189 wounded.)

“At the 50th anniversary ceremonies on the island, we saw some [American] veterans scoop up sand, but thought they were carrying it off as personal mementos,” says Kiyoshi Endo, chairman of the Association of Iwo-Jima Japan (www.iwo-jima.org/english/index.html), an organization of family members of servicemen who perished there. “Doing it for commercial purposes is another thing entirely.”

Speaking on behalf of AMVETS, Jay Agg told the Sankei his organization of U.S. military veterans supports the museum’s sale of Iwo Jima sand as a means of “conveying the battle’s history. But we can understand objections over the sale,” Agg went on to say.

Another U.S. organization, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, was quoted as saying the museum’s sale of the sand was different from its being peddled from a street stall, and the sand could be regarded as “a reminder of the bravery and sacrifice of both sides.”

Yamamoto cannot disparage the role the Iwo Jima battle plays in raising Americans’ patriotic sentiments. But as with differences over dealing with North Korea on the abductee issue, the sand controversy serves as another annoying example of this gap in the two nations’ sensibilities and awareness.

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Latest 15 of 45 Total Comments Show All

The_Marion at 11:22 PM JST - 2nd July

I find it very interesting the intrigue accorded the volcanic black sands of Iwo Jima while a Robert Barefoot has hauled away tons of the coral calcium sands of Okinawa, to be sold all over the world. I am sure he paid for it.

Meanwhile, I named Arnold Shapiro as the person behind the monument erected to commemorate the movie "The Sands of Iwo Jima" and Google immediately connected Shapiro (A Jew) with the holocaust.

Shapiro - Barefoot -- what's in a name?

I was there when the monument was dedicated on Iwo in 1985 and I did read what was inscribed on the granite monument, but I just can't eemember what was written; ddoes anyone have a copy of that message?
RepublicofTexas at 11:32 PM JST - 2nd July

The sand of Iwo Jima belongs to the USA. It was bought with thousands of American lives.

Then perhaps the sands of the West Coast belong to Spain, or even the Native Americans. By saying such a statement you insult America by insinuating that America fought a war not just to stop Japanese militarism but also to conquer land.
timcampi13 at 12:02 AM JST - 3rd July

okay, where in the world do they get that selling the sand from Iwo Jima conveys the battle history? its not like the sand can talk. and America has a wonderful book relating the history of the flagraisers and the battle and many other books as well. selling sand does nothing for history except go in the history of your pocketbook.
timcampi13 at 12:14 AM JST - 3rd July

e8istanf, we should be ashamed as well for nuking two of their cities. americans shouldnt take sand (why sand of all things, i do know thats all there is left on Iwo Jima, but still...) just to sell. for personal momentos, i could understand that. to sell? never. japan has every right to feel indignant because of this. they also should hate us for the a-bomb.
uperjer at 11:01 AM JST - 3rd July

they also should hate us for the a-bomb.

should we hate them for pearl harbor?

Moderator: Back on topic please. Posts that do not refer to the sands of Iwo Jima will be removed.
RepublicofTexas at 11:59 AM JST - 3rd July

I think the selling of the sand is an insult not only to Japan's war dead, but also to America's as well.

Also, people need to remember that not all the Japanese who served in the Imperial forces were crazy warmongers, many were just poor farmers, and university students who were drafted into a war they did not believe in. Same thing happened in Europe too.
maninjpn at 12:32 PM JST - 3rd July

The Marion, according to Wikipedia, the plaque reads:

"On the 40th anniversary of the battle of Iwo Jima, American and Japanese veterans met again on these same sands, this time in peace and friendship. We commemorate our comrades, living and dead, who fought here with bravery and honor, and we pray together that our sacrifices on Iwo Jima will always be remembered and never be repeated."
timcampi13 at 11:14 PM JST - 3rd July

should we hate them for pearl harbor?

most people probably do. a friend of mine read this article and agrees selling the sand is wrong.
VoXman at 11:23 PM JST - 3rd July

True, thousands of bravemen died at Iwo Jima in defense of a cause they believe in. But taking sand/soil/ or whatever from a consecrated place like Iwo Jima for the purpose of commerce is tacky and without respect for the dead. And for those that say well Iwo is the USA's paid for with blood. I say then why aren't Normandy Vets doing the same in France? Why is it that we trample on these islands in the Pacific and desecrate the land and the sunken ships in their harbors and yet we wouldn't dream of doing the same in Italy and France?
Betting at 10:53 AM JST - 7th July

"I say then why aren't Normandy Vets doing the same in France?".

Do you know for a fact they aren't/haven't? But if they have (just if, I don't know) maybe the people from those other countries don't mind or ... maybe haven't found out. And even if they found out, would they mind?

As Kiyoshi Endo stated in the article, to do it as a memento is acceptable, but to do it for commercial purposes is not, a comment I agree with.
ANOTSUSAGAMI at 01:34 AM JST - 9th July

What about those of us who weren't able to make it to Iwo Jima that day(the sand was collected), whose family members fought in that battle? Are we not allowed to buy a memento from a museum because someone is offended? My family has a long history of military service, and I for one would like such a memento as a reminder of their sacrifice. The $25 fee the museum charges is to cover the cost of the certificate, the container, and to give a little to the museum so they can stay open and continue to open people's eyes to history. The people who sell the stuff on ebay or what have you, at $100 (a hefty profit), are awful and should be ashamed. Good on the Marines for giving the Americans they serve a peice of tangible history.
Badsey at 02:09 AM JST - 10th July

pressure could easily be put on Ebay to stop selling Iwo Jima sand. And others could flag Ebay sales of said product.

Not everything is meant to be bought and sold. =a hard ideal for some to learn it seems.
The_Marion at 04:16 AM JST - 10th July

Let the quote from the momument on Iwo Jima, as provided by maninjpn, be the last words reference those silly remarks alluding to the "Sands of Iwo Jima."
beeee at 01:27 PM JST - 10th July

When I visited Little Bighorn years ago, the USNPS had a policy that prohibited vistors from taking anything (flowers, stones, dirt, etc) from the park. Im embarrassed to see that we dont hold this true for all battledields.
RepublicofTexas at 10:13 PM JST - 13th July

What about those of us who weren't able to make it to Iwo Jima that day(the sand was collected), whose family members fought in that battle? Are we not allowed to buy a memento from a museum...

Families like yours should be able to apply somehow to Japan through the US military to get a memento, a much more respectful way of collecting the sand than buying it off of ebay or even the museum.