The passing of our 41st president, George H.W. Bush, offers a few historical and geographical teaching points. Bush was shot down in the waters near the Japanese island of Chichijima. He was rescued by an American sub before the Japanese could reach him; the island was commanded by a Japanese major.

Chichijima was settled not by Japanese but by Americans. It was originally a whaling station for Massachusetts whaling ships and settled by Americans and Hawaiians. Chichijima is in the Tokyo Prefecture, 25 hours away by boat.

During WWII the Caucasian and mixed-race inhabitants were relocated to Tokyo and forced to take Japanese names. They returned after the war and resumed with their island life with their rightful names. They still can trace their ancestry to these whalers, mostly Caucasians and some African-Americans and Hawaiians.

Jerald S. Takesono

Kaneohe

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