A passbook that has been kept as a World War II relic for years by a group promoting U.S.-Japan ties in Washington will be returned to the family of a Japanese soldier who died in the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific more than 75 years ago.
The postal savings book was brought along with other items to the Japan-America Society of Washington DC some 10 years ago by an American man following the death of his father who had served in World War II, according to the group.
But the item was only recently confirmed to have been owned by Chojiro Hibi, who lived in Yokohama. Hibi, then in his early 20s, died in the battle on what is now called Ioto, the site of one of the most grueling battles of World War II.