Kurt Cobain... Iris Chang... They were not insane, just living in pain.

merely ???????

not so fast....the circumstances of her death are a bit odd, no? and definitely worth investigating.

She had some sort of connection with Hillary Clinton. I have heard a certain term, which has been used to describe suspicious deaths of those within the Clinton's circle: Arkancide. Who's to say what this was, but I would not rule anything out.Moragod Sinkultawongrit

She left a note. Did someone forge this? She was on the side of the road. If someone was going to kill her, would they really shoot her on the side of the road in a car, where they would get blood all over themselves and then have to leave the car? It makes no sense. She killed herself. She had depression.

She was a leader; a world leader. In the war on trivia and forgetfulness, she was four star general. She was human, too: savage depressions are too often fatal. ---So, we mourn her pain and anguish. ---So, we pray for her husband and toddler; may they find peace and find forgiveness and grow together like storm-tossed oak trees ---So, we remember that Iris Chang worked her heart out for us -- so that we might remember good and evil can walk the earth: it is good when entire cultures are celebrated, it is evil when mass violence by governments takes on a wild, ruthless and volcanic energy. ---So, we remember that Iris Chang took out her hammer and chisel day after day. ---So, we mourn our loss: so young to be wracked and struck down by a soul-ripping disease, so young to have already given us so much. ---So, we give thanks that she lived while we lived. ---So, we pray with the knowledge that Iris Chang's soul is now at peace; ---we pray that her husband be given strength; ---we pray that her parents are protected from self-doubt; ---we pray that Iris Chang's work -- her love for humans unknown to her -- goes forth and multiplies in those who knew her, those who heard her, those who read her work, and in those who shall read her work; ---we pray that because of her, hammers and chisels that might have been neglected shall be picked up and generous sparks of truth and remembrance shall rise again and again.

God bless her for her courage and conviction, and for her passion for seeking the truth. She will be missed, but there will be many others following in her pioneering footsteps.

I was very sad to hear early this morning of the tragic death of Iris Chang; a Google search brought me to this forum. My first thought also was that the story seemed suspicious; I've heard of too many "suicides" in recent years involving multiple shots to the back of the head, etc. (especially, as mentioned above, in connection with the three dozen plus bodies, at last count, that litter the Clintons' backtrail).But as I've read more, I'm inclined to believe the official version. I've spent years myself struggling with the kind of depression that can easily lead one to conclude that ending it all now is the only "rational" course. Many hours, days, sitting in a chair by my kitchen table, listing to my mind listing all the perfectly compelling reasons why continuing to live was stupid, foolish and really not worth the considerable trouble. I'm in the body today only because long training in Buddhist meditation and similar disciplines taught me how to observe the mind rather than identify with it. And because I took a lot of drugs in my youth (San Francisco, 1960s) I am aware of how changeable, and easily changed, is one's state of mind; I could observe the depression come and go, like LSD coming on and wearing off.And I'm reasonably certain -- as sure as I can be about something about which none of us can be sure at all -- that death does not "end it all," that ones state of mind at death is crucially important in determining ones experience thereafter, and that, as Tibetan Buddhism teaches, most of us will probably have little control after we leave the body over what we experience then. Thus it is vitally important to cultivate the most positive state of mind while we still can. Suicide due to depression seems to be one of the worst possible ways to die, since our state of mind is really the only thing we take with us when we leave the body and lose all the bearings we've been used to. It's bad enough feeling that way while in the body, when there are physical and external points of reference to cling to.Most people, unfortunately, believe that what's going through their mind is who they are. I suspect I know what was going through Iris Chang's mind, and my heart aches. My depression also was, I believe, brought on substantially by my growing awareness of the overwhelming tragedy of this world, including a "holocaust" that affected me personally (one far more "hidden" than the "rape of Nanjing"), whose buried memories began to arise in my consciousness around age 50, and wasted my ability to live anything like a "normal" life.A few years ago, a local acquaintance, a locally well-known writer, was found hanged with his own belt at a highway rest stop. He too had been struggling with depression. A dozen years ago, another local acquaintance shot herself in the head; same story. If I'd only known.... I wish I'd had a chance to talk with them, tell them that someone understood how they felt. The terrible isolation of such depression is perhaps its worst feature.An Anglo-American with deep interests in Chinese and Asian culture, I've read "The Rape of Nanjing" and "The Chinese in America," and found both informative and (the latter anyway) enjoyable, though I felt they were rather too one-sided and obsessed with the currently-fashionable cult of victimhood to be regarded as pure history. Certainly the Japanese did terrible things in China, but none of it was at all novel in Chinese (or Asian, or human) history; and I've found Chinese calls for Japanese remorse and apology, though certainly justifiable on their face, somewhat less that believable in context with the adamant refusal of those same Chinese to acknowledge the rape, pillage and (in this case probably successful, as the Japanese were not) genocide of Tibet -- by China. To mention only one recent example.And of course, my ancestors genocided the indigenous Americans -- who in their turn wiped out each others' little tribal groups as cheerfully as anyone, long before the Europeans came to this continent. I've long wondered whose side I should take when I consider how my Celtic ancestors were genocided by my Anglo-Saxon ancestors 1500 years ago, or how my Norman ancestors wasted them both 500 years later. And so on. Only the Buddha's teaching has enabled me to see all of it in a context sufficiently large to avoid finding myself in the kind of dead end that Iris Chang apparently encountered.Dear Iris Chang, my prayers are with you.

I was helping Iris do research on a "forgotten holocaust", the plight of four companies of WWII national Guard tankers who played a critical role in the Luzon campaign Dec 41- April 42.These men fought an extraordinary fight and then entered the hell of the Japanese Army POW system. I sat with her during many interviews with these veterans in Ohio and one in Michigan. It was gut wrenching to hear what they survived as combabtabts and as slave laborers in occupied Manchuria and Japan. I am so sad I wasn't with her in the last leg of her journey, her trip this summer to Kentucky. I fear she experienced something there that was too much to bear. She asked me to come and help her. I wasn't there for her. I should never have asked her to begin this work.

I am very sad and distributed this morning to learn that international best-seling author shot herself in the head. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/10148399.htmMy friends introduced me to her book, The Rape of Nanjing, while in high school and ever since then, I have always been her fan. I have her other latest book about the history of the Chinese in America.It is quite puzzling to me that someone like Iris whom you think lives a very satisfying life with her successful writing career, a family and a son - would have it all. Why would anyone want to end a life that others so much would envy? I have spent the first hour of my work morning googling and trying to find out what happened. There has not been much released as to why she committed suicide. I give my greatest condolence to the Chang family and those who are impacted by this tragedy. It is really unfortunate to see the Asian-American community loosing a great leader, a passionate author, a truth-seeking historian, and just one of our own.

Suicide is always hard to comprehend. I had two friends commit suicide in a short period of time. And when I tried to talk through my emotions about them, the first thing anyone ever asked was "why?" Actually it was annoying. People who didn't know Jamal or Darius--who just knew me--would even ask "why?" WTF! There is no why, so stop asking. Would any answer sufficiently explain why someone you care about is gone? Why death is better than life? No. WHY do you need to know? My friend is dead.

It never surprises me when a writer commits suicide. I think writers are made of a particular cloth -- sensitive, deeply feeling, able to pick up on the nuances of people and society. And that can be very depressing. We in the bay area APA arts community lost Itzolin 18 months ago. I think Ursula makes a good point -- we just don't know and no answer would ever explain it. Itzo, you are missed.

I was deeply saddened by Iris' death. I had been a fan of her work since 1997. I was finally able to meet her following a lecture in Dallas, TX in April of this year and I will never forget her passion and dedication to her subjects' stories. She will remain an inspiration to me and others who follow in her footsteps, though we deal with subjects that involve less tragedy and horror. To the researcher who began to "self blame," please do not. It cannot bring her back and will only contort your life for the worst. If you believe in an afterlife, say a prayer for her, her husband, son, and family. If you don't believe in one, do not let her memory die in the same way that she refused to let the memory of those thousands die. We love her...her successes as well as her failures. She was truly human and fought for all humanity. That is why we are grieving.Wailuku, Maui.

To Andrew Main:It's not your fault bro. If anyone is to blame, it's the Imperial Army of Japan.Finish the research. Publish it. It will be a final tribute to a life well lived.

Yeah, people that climb mountains fall off. You can't say, "I wish I hadn't". But she was on a pretty high one. The high ones get addicting and you always look bad when you push the limit and "fail" unless you look around at the great ones you are in company with.All you can say is, "Thanks Iris". You didn't owe us anymore.

Thanks you for your kind words. I am responsible for this tragedy, but I unknowingly lead Iris to the edge of this cliff. I will take your advice to heart. I must return to doing the research in Kentucky. I am exhausted from my full time job in the Army but that's a poor excuse. I'm a NCO and it's time to live up to my role. Iris asked me to help her in Kentucky. I promised her a "dream team" of volunteer helpers to interview the former POWs as I had done in Illinois and Wisconsin for her. I myself was with her in Ohio and Michigan. I didn't come through with my end of the bargain in Kentucky. I told her I was too exhausted from my job and had to take a break from the research. She wouldn't take a break. She saw that by July 04 of the four Bataan tanker vets we had interviewed in Ohio in Sept 03 two died and one went insane. He's now fighting Japanese camp guards in a rest home. Chuck became too violent for his wife to controll. There were only four living survivors left in Kentucky, and one was pretty weak. These four men's stories are critical to iris's work. Of the 66 boys that left their little tobacco town only I think 30 came back from the Death March and the POW camps. Iris was exhausted. She was consumed by the plight of the former POWs I was bringing to her to interview. They became family to her. Noone else was there to tell their story of America's forgotten holocaust, just Iris. Each new story was more gut wrenching than the last. She listened to each Tanker and she really listened. I just took it in and analyzed the military aspect of it, the psychology of combat, the peculiarities of the early untried M3 Stuart tanks, and drew more info out of the veterans. I taught Iris to understand how a bunch of green home town National Guard boys could fight a delaying action against battle- hardened Japanese infantry and tankers. This rag tag group of eight National Guard tank companys fought one of the toughest delaying actions in US history. it was a feat comparable in it's consequences to our defence at Bastogne. A Japanese general interrogated after the war stated that general Homma's invading forces thought they were facing eight battalions of US troops. The tankers covered the withdrawal of the 26th Cavalry (yes we had horse cavalry fighting a delaying action against Japanese armor) and our infantry regiments. This prevented Japanese armor and some infantry formations from breaking through and slaughtering our brave non mechanized troops during their phased withdrawals. The tankers kept the back door open to Bataan. Without these brave tankers the Luzon would have fallen in a month. There would have been no Bataan. Bataan allowed the US to hold up the Japanese timetable of conquest three more months. Those precious three months made the difference between victory and defeat in the Pacific war. No Bataan , no Guadalcanal. No Guadalcanal, no last toehold from which to launch the island hopping campaign.The supply lifeline line to Australia would have also been cut. Australia would have fallen to the Japanese. Never have so few done so much for so many. A few National Guard tankers. A bunch of kids, not professional regular Army soldiers. And Iris saw all this. She got to know these 85 year old guys, seeing th kids that they were back then. And God help the person who really grasps the depth of misery these kids suffered. They paid a price that few, damned few people, aside from my friend Iris, could grasp. Few people in this calloused world can feel a love for their fellow man like Iris showed me. I can't feel like that. If that's mentally ill then God grant me the decency to be just like that. I read a book for a educational philosopy course at Ohio State, The Night is Dark and I Am Far From Home. It showed me that we don't really teach our children to feel, to truly empathize. Maybe that's a dangerous thing. If you really empathize our society calls you a whack job. Iris was just a frail girl, but she dared to care. Damn everyone else who doesn't. Like the song Starry Night about Vincent Van G....the words "this world was never meant for anyone as beautiful as you" speaks to my heart of my friend Iris. I need to pick up Iris's fallen banner and find the decency to do the research. I need to find a worthy author to put her research into print. She mentored Hampton Sides. I emailed him but got no reply. The dead from Bataan mutely stand by, gaunt and staring. Like an image from that painting "The Scream". I offered this bloody banner to Iris. I don't think she really had any choice other than to take it. It's lying at my feet now. Who will pick it up? God help me if I don't do something. I discussed this with my wife, who is Chinese and also liked Iris very much. I guess I'll start tomorrow. Thank you Alhambra CA for your comments. Tony

Tony, That's quite a story. As noted, Anonymous's comment above was directed to you, not to me; the way this forum is formatted, it looks like I wrote your entry, but mine is the long one above yours. Anyway, I'd say it's not really a matter of it being anyone's "fault." All this suffering has been going on since time immemorial, after all. When the Buddha was asked how it all began, he simply declined to answer, preferring to concentrate on what we can do now, which is all we have anyway. All we can do is address as best we can the suffering we find before us. And while it's important not to turn off our own sensitivity, it's equally important not to allow ourselves to be overwhelmed, as I gather perhaps Iris was. The best thing we can do, for anyone, for everyone, is to survive whatever suffering we encounter -- our own or others', it's really all just suffering -- without being crushed or twisted or destroyed by it. My Zen teacher once said that a lot of what we were working on in lengthy, intense, difficult meditation retreats (ever try to sit still -- really still -- for an hour? how about a week?) was becoming strong enough to be able to go on living without shutting down our ability to feel the suffering in the world. That's what most people do. Iris, it seems, was simply unprepared to deal with what she encountered. As I understand it, a large number of the American soldiers involved in the Bataan "death march" were from New Mexico (I know little about it, just what I hear from living here, where it's often spoken of); there's a memorial to them, with an "eternal flame," just a couple of blocks from my house. It's ironic that, while the Japanese flirtation with empire caused so much suffering, in the Philippines and elsewhere, those American soldiers wouldn't have been there at all if the Philippines hadn't been part of the overseas empire the U.S. began putting together with the trumped-up war against Spain. It's worth remembering that in the early years of the American occupation of the Philippines, the U.S. military treated the "natives" there with almost as much contempt and cruelty as the Japanese later showed when they came. It goes on and on; Abu Ghraib was nothing new, nor unique to the United States. And it's worth remembering that Japan was merely following the example of the Euro-American powers in the 19th century: amassing an empire was (and remains, and always has been) how a nation shows its self-pride to the world. Everyone's done it; everyone who hasn't probably would if they could. The Buddha said, "I teach one thing, and one thing only: suffering and how to end suffering." That's all that's important. If you feel moved to try to help, it's certainly worth doing. But no, it's not your fault, so don't take it on as such.Andrew Main

Tony,I read with great interest your comments concerning interviews with US veterans. As an author of reference books on German militaria, I can attest to your comments concerning the passing of our veterans and the loss of important first hand information concerning the history of the period.As one who has interviewed both US and German WWII veterans, I understand the importance of recording this information before it is lost to time and the ages.While exhausting, it is so rewarding and, sometimes, wrenching in its content and depth. I admire your willingness and wish you the very best.You, like Iris Chang, are the one who must carry on this nearly impossible task before it is too late.As a retired Pharmacist who worked with veterans for several years, I know only too well how important this fading source of first hand information is slipping through our fingers.I am doing the best I can in my limited way to save as much information as possible.I can only wish you continued success in your tasks.Ron Weinand, R. Ph.Weinand Militaria

Antidepressant drugs may have certain side effects that induce suicidal tendencies. There was recently a program on TV that talks about how this side effect is overlooked and needs investigation. I think this is very important because prescription drugs are so potent unlike anything you can buy including the highest potency vitamin supplements. These medications can potentially make a person to do things beyond reason or common sense. It would help to clarify what Iris Chang's situation was if her family is willing to share their knowledge of the note and how Iris had acquired the gun, as well as the prescription drug(s) she had been taking prior to her death. Either way, an investigation might help other people to be more aware of the drugs available and their potential problems. It is understandable to some degree how people would suspect murder: She is an accomplished writer who is not afraid to speak her mind. Her future and her voice could have very influential effect on the public. I had learned that her book on Nanking massacre agitated the Japanese government. My other suspicion is her use of gun on herself, although women using guns on themselves have been on the rise for many years. I hope we’ll get follow up on this case either from her family or from the police. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.

Ahh. To hear you guys talk is good.I came to Shanghai to study guitar because I heard Chinese kids playing on the radio in Vancouver and I knew it was just starting here. My first week here I spent in the Famous Pujiang Hotel a couple blocks from "The Bund" and on the romantic Paris Canal of the East, the Souzhou River.To save money I stayed in the hostel part of the hotel. That meant I slept in a large room that had about ten beds in it with one washroom for us and the guys in the next room. It was March so the beds were more than half taken, some nights all of them. I was alone and scared which made me very open to what happened.Late at night after exploring the city in our different ways we would talk with each other. We all were from different parts of the world and one young Japanese that reminded me of my children gave me two small Chinese lions he said he didn't have room for along with his email address and an invitation to visit if in Japan. It was however the older Japanese gentleman a few nights later that really wouldn't let me go on. I kept thinking our talking would disturb the others who had gone to sleep but he wouldn't stop. I think I know why now a little more. He was in touch with the important thinkers in Japan and he wanted to know what could be done.In a nutshell he said, " I'm afraid China hates Japanese and can you do anything about it? Do you know anything that can help"?------------------My Project HopeBy Aiwa, Students of Beijing Institute of Economic Management. The article was written in Chinese and won the author the first Prize in a foreign student speech competitionPart One: the pastMy hair is black, My skin is yellow. My eyes are small. If I keep my mouth closed, I'd be accepted as one of you. But when I open my mouth, they know that I am a foreigner, even worse, a Japanese. Most of the time, people are very considerate and treat me nicely. But I know that there are unexpressed feelings and things unsaid. For a long time I was not aware of such, but one recent incident made me realize of it.One day I took an taxi and as usual the driver asked me where I was from. Since I get asked this question all the time, I decided to play a little trick. I told him that I was a Thai. We were talking about everything from the weather to his business. Then he said all the sudden, "You know, the Japanese people are bad." I asked him, "Why?" He replied, "Didn't you study history at all?" Then I did not want to say any more. Even though it was a part of the casual conversation for the driver, it left a very deep scar in my heart.The past history.It hurts.I've heard a lot about the terrible things that the Japanese people did to the Chinese people. I know that some Chinese people feel resentment against the Japanese. I wasn't there when the Japanese invaded China. So I don't know what happened exactly. But I know that some atrocious things happened, because history will always remain, and the past will never be erased.Part Two: the presentI have been in China for half a year. The most wonderful thing that has happened since I came here is being able to participate in Project Hope. But before I tell you about my activities there, I would first like to share a story with you. This is a story which my teacher told me while I was attending a junior high in Japan.Do you know a country called Cambodia? It is a small yet beautiful country in South East Asia. Unfortunately, they had to suffer from 25 years of a civil war, and now it is a very poor third-world country. A Japanese woman from the United Nations was sent to work in a small village where she made friends and understood the lives of villages. When she finished the term and she was about to leave, people gathered around her and expressed their sorrow at her leaving. Upon her departure, a little girl started sobbing uncontrollably. With the tears running down her cheeks, she ran after her and shouted, "Please take me to Japan! I want to study!"In this village without a school, there was no way for her to study, no matter how much she was eager or intelligent. After having heard this story, I often wondered what happened to this little girl afterwards. But, I wondered more about why she wanted to study so much.For many of us, we take schooling for granted. Sometimes we even feel annoyed by the fact that we have to go to school everyday. However, for the Cambodian girl, this is an intolerable complaint. For her, to be able to study is a very special thing. It can even be said to be a privilege only for the rich.UNESCO has designated "International Literacy Years" a period of 10 years starting from 1990, and has been promoting to increase literacy globally. As a part of this activity, UNESCO Beijing has been co-operated with Project Hope. Since there have been many inquiries from Japan, regarding this project; starting from 1995 we have established UNESCO Beijing Volunteer Group in order to deal with such inquiries. Ever since, we have been acting as the bridge between a Japanese community and Project Hope. Most of the staff are young Japanese students like me. We also have Chinese students studying Japanese and wives of Japanese working here in Beijing. Even though we are very inexperienced and not very professional, we do our best, hoping to help more children, even if it is just one more child.People often tell me, "It is very noble of you to be doing volunteer work." For me, however, it is not so, in the last; as a Japanese student learning Chinese, this country has taught me so many things. I am just trying to help Chinese students in return for all the great experiences that China has given me. Also, I feel what Project Hope has taught me is much more than I can ever do for them. Just like the English expression "give and take" not only are we helping them, but also we are learning from the children in poverty stricken areas. For instance, they have taught me the preciousness of being able to study and taught me to appreciate what I have in my life.Project Hope has given much hope to those children. At the same time, they have given me a flicker of hope in my heart. Project Hope has taught me the joy of helping those around me.Just picture a smiling child. S/he is the future of this country. With willing you infinite possibilities to help others around you. It is up to you to stop the tears of another child, crying for your help.Part three: the futureI live in the present. I did not exist in the past to witness the tragedy of the war. I do not know the future of this country of the future of the Sino-Japanese relationship. Hopefully, there will be more children receiving education and that there will more exchanges, co-operations, and understanding between my country and China. Maybe this is no easy task. We should not forget the past, but we should not only concern ourselves about it, because there lies the future ahead of us. We must work towards a happy future. Having said this, however, all I can do now is to act as a bridge between China and Japan and between the past and the future. And this is my Project Hope.

A tragic ending.

iris chang's passing should put a end to the chapter of blaming and counter-blaming of past 300 yrs of the era of might-makes-right. for instance, the real japanese blunder wascaused by min-tse emporer's decision towesternize under the guns of commandoreperrie. by doing so, japan reserved twonuclear bombs for her homeland and forever lost her identy as what she really wanted to be.the burning of chen he's records on a road map for world domination in themid 1940's after he(so some claimed) discover the world. those chinese madarines,who burned the what,by today'saccount, the most precious proprietoryproperties world had ever known, forewarned us about the coming of theage of desperation, in which the rape ofculture by technology would take the form of a earth-scorching stampede. thebattle cries of demobcrazy, freakdom andcapitalism(or ism or any kind) would assure ever-escalating holy wars leadingthe human experience to a successfuldoomsday finale.

I have completed extensive research of this incident and would like to share my ideas.Certainly, I cannot completely rule out suicide. Nor can I completely rule out assassination by one of the following:* Japanese Rightists* Pro-Japanese so called "Taiduists" from Taiwan* US based, anti Chinese racist groups* Etc.However, in considering the "long game" I have had a most disturbing thought. Let me begin with a series of questions. We can see that the Holocaust in Europe has been examined with vigor, with much public acknowledgement of it by the Germans. In the case of Japanese Fascist genocide and warmongering, certainly, while not entailing a response on par with that from the Germans, nonetheless, there was an Allied occupation of Japan and at least some of the perpetrators were punished, some died in Soviet Gulags.However, what of the Communists? Where lies the exhumation of Communist pogroms, massacres, purges, liquidations, mass starvations, relocations and other depredations?Let us ask further - where would Iris' road have eventually led? Imagine a scenario - on a trip to the PRC, she is approached by a dissident with his or her own story to tell - a story of current misery in a Lao Gai. Where would that have led? Perhaps, after researching and exposing the sins of the CCP, Iris might have explored the demons of Soviet Communism. How many skeletons are still in the closets of the Northern half of Asia and in Eastern Europe?Given all this, I propose a challenging hypothesis. The entities who were most threatened, ultimately, by Iris Chang, are those of "ex" and current Communist "pedigree" - who, if their worst works were exposed - would face an angry world, hungry for justice never served. This would make sense, since the most capable and widespread intelligence services in the world are those of the "former" and current Communist countries. And given the overall laxity of US border control, the USA's poor ability to keep out spies and operatives, combined with the large diaporas from "former" and current Communist countries living in Santa Clara County (within which intelligence operatives can hide) - all the ingredients for a covert intelligence operation to assassinate Iris Chang were in place at the time of her passing.Moragod Sinkultawongrit

Dear Ron Weinan,Thank for your encouragement. I recruited Iris to write this book on Bataan tankers. I'm now neogoting with several top writers to choose who will finish this book. I am back to delvinbg into the the research and will be interviewing veterans again tomorrow.I believe we know each other. I've writen a number of articles on German WWI topics and am finishing up an encyclopedia of WWII German Army uniforms, Insignia and equipment. I am also building a museum collection for the Patton Museum for the bataaqn tankers and just finished their Japanese Type 95 tank. I too have interviewed many German veterans and in fact, by training I am a German teacher. I will probably see you tomorrow at teh OVMS show. I'll be the Sergeant First Class (U.S. Army) with the shaven head. I'm meeting with a Japanese historian. In mentoring the top authors I do a massive amount of research and do my best to do a balanced picture of the Japanese forces in combat. I depict the good and the bad. I have many close friends in Japan and have no axe to grind. The corporations who used our POWs as slave laborers should perhaps pay some indemnities but I do not hold them to blame for dark deed done in in the past. Thye didn't do it. I hope no one blames me for what the US Army did to the native Americans. I am a professional soldier and am mindful of the past but do not judge other on it. There is "Japanese Schindler" in my research I showed to Iris Chang and will show the author I will choose to follow in her footsteps.Ni de penyo (mit freundlichen Gruessen)Tony MeldahlColumbus, Ohio

A forum on Iris Chang can be found at http://www.IrisChang.us .

There are other plausible explanations about her tragedy. I examine some of them in the forthcoming book "Chusan Road." Can it be that she is forgotten already by so many? I wonder who is pursuing the latest project she had begun.