Protecting Artifacts

On Feb. 19, the 66th anniversary of the landing of the U.S. invasion on Iwo Jima, East Carolina University historians and conservators held a public viewing of a rare rubber topographical map depicting Iwo Jima during WWII. The map illustrated airstrips and roads on the island and was used for training naval intelligence officers. ECU Director of Conservation Susanne Grieve (Maritime Studies) said ECU conservators preserved the map by removing previous restorations that caused the rubber to deteriorate. Grieve, center, is pictured above with maritime studies graduate student Nicole Wittig, left, and Emily Powell, graduate student in history. Following the event, the map was returned to the Battleship North Carolina collection in Wilmington. Other presenters included history professors Michael Palmer on World War II and John Tucker on Japan in World War II; and Joyner Library Special Collections Curator Jonathan Dembo on the Joyner Library World War II special collections. Dembo displayed items from the library’s collections of original letters, action reports and maps showing the landing beaches on Iwo Jima and the Western Pacific theater. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)