The Oryoka Maru
Story
Warning:
The content of this story is not pleasant reading. We recommend
young people view it under the guidance of a parent.
The Oryoku Maru Story prepared by:
Charles M. Brown, Lt. Col. AUS Ret.
Lloyd E. Mills, Lt. Col AUS Ret.
Edward Konik, Maj. AUS Ret.
Arthur G. Beale, Cdr. USN Ret.
Edward Fisher, DBC Liaison Officer
Note: The Oryoku Maru Story is taken from a legal summary
from the War Crimes Trials and it is this summary that Mr. Brown very aptly
renamed the Oryoku Maru Story. It describes the events that occurred to the
1,619* POW’s who were loaded aboard the Oryoku Maru in Manila, P.I. on December
13, 1944, through the arrival of approximately 450 survivors, in Moji, Japan on
January 29, 1945. (*Please note that due to confusion during boarding no one
has a precise, exact number of POWs.)
Though not included in The Oryoku Maru Story, in Japan the POWs were
eventually sent to various work camps where they were used as slave labor.
Living conditions, lack of medical attention, lack of an adequate diet,
combined with the trauma of the voyage to Japan accounted for the deaths of
approximately 161 more men in the weeks following arrival in Japan.
In summary, of approximately 1,619 men who
boarded the Oryoku Maru, 450 survived the voyage to Japan; of those 450
survivors, 161 died in Japanese work camps. That left only 271 men of the
original 1,619 who survived to be liberated in August 1945. It staggers
the mind.
In the latter part of October 1944, the Japanese forces began to be pushed
back in the Philippines. The American air offensives began to make themselves
felt on the Japanese. American carrier based planes were making daily raids
into the heart of the Japanese strongholds in the Philippines. On or about October
1944, word came through that all able-bodied prisoners of war being held in
Cabanatuan and Davao Prisoner of War Camps would be transferred to Old Bilibid
prison, Manila for eventual shipment to Japan. This group of prisoners gathered
and stayed at Old Bilibid until December 13th 1944. On that
date at 0I00 hours a total of 1619 American and Allied Prisoners of War were
assembled. This group was divided up into groups of about 500 men each.
Of the 1619 about 1100 were officers, a majority being field grade. All
of the group were American, except 30 who were Allied Nationals. At I000
hours the entire group marched in a column of fours through the main streets of
Manila to Pier #7. Pier #7 was known as the Million Dollar Pier because it is
reputed to be the longest in the world. Lieutenant TOSHINO, the Prisoner of War
GU Commander, was standing at the gate checking the number of prisoners as they
left the camp. TOSHINO was not seen again until the prisoners arrived at the
pier.
The group arrived at the pier at about II00 hours and waited several hours
before they were loaded onto their ship. At 1500 hours a combat laden ship
moved out in convoy from the pier.
Japanese civilians, some sailors and a group of soldiers to man
anti-aircraft guns, total numbering about 1500 persons embarked. The prisoners
were then loaded aboard the Oryoku Maru.
The Oryoku Maru was a new cabin type vessel, which appeared to be designed for
luxury travel in the Orient. Its capacity was about 15,000 tons. It was
the best Japanese vessel the Americans had seen up to that time. The ship
carried absolutely no markings of any sort. It was heavily armed fore and
aft with 3-inch anti-aircraft guns, dual purpose, and pom-pom guns. The
prisoners quarters were about 20 feet below the main deck.
When the prisoners started to embark Mr. WADA, the Japanese interpreter was
supervising the loading. While waiting at the pier, some of the groups
got mixed up, so that when Commander Portz led his group aboard the ship he had
about 700 men in his group and they were placed in the after hold.
It took about one and one-half hours to load
group #1, Group #2 in the charge of Lt. Colonel Curtis T. Beecher, started
loading about 1530 in the forward hold. This group consisted of over 600
prisoners. The hold was 60 by I00 feet.
There were temporary troop accommodations built about four feet from the
floor and extending out 12 feet from the bulkhead, and running around the
entire hold area in a square, with no partition, and all wood. The Prisoners
went down into this hold via wooden steps from the hatch to the hold. Light
could only come through the hatch opening, which was about 20 feet by 20 feet.
There were no ventilators, no portholes. Group #3 went aboard and was loaded in
the hatch amid-ships with approximately 300 men.
The conditions in the hold where Group #2 were, was so crowded that the men, a
few minutes after entering the hold, began fainting. The Japanese were
asked to move some of the men out, the request was refused and they were told
that there would be about 200 men put into the forward hold. There wasn't
enough air and men were fainting due to the lack of air and intense heat. The
Japanese were hurrying men into the hold, in some cases these men were being
pushed down the stairs and beaten with rifle butts and shovels. Some men,
were knocked down and off the ladder, falling on the men already below. AIHARA,
one of the guards is alleged to have been one of the men standing at the hatch
entrance, beating the prisoners as they entered. All during this time, WADA was present during the loading and
without a doubt observed the treatment being given the prisoners, yet he did
nothing to stop it.
At about 1800 hours all the men were loaded. The weather in the Philippines is
tropical and extremely hot. In the lower bays, where all the men were in,
they had to assume a crouched position because they couldn't stand upright.
No men were permitted in the center, under the hatch, by order of the
Japanese guards. In the upper bays one could stand or crouch but could
not lie down prior to embarking. The last meal that the prisoners were given
was on the night of December 12th, at about 1900 hours in Old
Bilibid. For that meal, they were fed a ½-canteen cup of steamed rice and ¼-canteen
cup of soup. There was also an issue of a ½-canteen cup of rice to be eaten the
morning of the 13th at 1900 hours. The meal amounted to nearly
a full canteen cup of steamed rice and a teaspoon of salt and seaweed for each
man, and one canteen cup of water for one whole bay of approximately 45 men.
Each man received the equivalent of three teaspoons full of water. The
distribution of the food and water was left entirely up to the Americans, the
Japanese had, nothing to do with it.
Never were the Japanese ever physically present in the holds.
Other than this meager ration, no food was received while the prisoners
were aboard the Oryoku Maru, except on 14th December, men in the
center hold received morning chow.
When the prisoners first boarded the ship, there were a few cases of active
diarrhea and dysentery. No provisions had been made for any latrine facilities
in the holds. After repeated requests, four five-gallon buckets were
lowered into the holds. They were placed in the comers. Although repeated
requests were made to the Japanese for more buckets no action resulted.
The four buckets that they received were overflowing within 1 1/2 hours,
and requests to empty them were refused. By 2400 hours the lower floor in
the vicinity of the latrine was a sea of human waste. The stench in the hold,
at about 2400 hours, due to the lack of air and human waste was overpowering.
When the men first entered the ship the
temperature was between 85 and 95 degrees. About 0200 hours on the 14th
due to the noise and excitement, the hatch, which was the only opening for air,
was completely battened down, cutting off all air except that which seeped
through the hatch cover. The temperature then rose to about 120 degrees.
Men leaning against the bulkheads and the bays were passing out for lack
of air. These men were removed to the front of the bay where they were
revived. For the remaining time on the Oryoku Maru the air situation
became worse, because of the dehydration, weakness, thirst and stench.
No sick bay had been designated. There was
no room for it. Repeated requests were made for permission to bring the most
irritated cases of heat prostration and dehydration on deck where they would at
least be able to get some air. All these requests were denied by WADA.
During the nights of the 13th and 14th
men became deranged, and would wander about the hold stepping on other
prisoners, searching for water and air. Some became violent to the extent that
they lashed out with canteens or striking with their fists or feet at anyone
with whom they came in contact. It was pitch black in the hold. In this
chaos there was no possibility for much needed sleep. On this first night about
40 to 50 men went out of their mind.
At about 0300 hours on the morning of the 14th
the Oryoku Maru weighed anchor and headed out towards the China Sea. At dawn of
the 14th the forward hatch was opened and in the forward hold there were 8 to
10 men who had died during the night. At about. 0800 hours an air raid
alarm sounded. The ship was strafed and ricochets began flying into the
holds. The ship had been damaged, and
was moving now, with difficulty. Several men had been wounded during the raid
by the ricochets. During the air raid, it was learned that at least 30 men had
died in the aft hold the night of the 13th, mostly due to
suffocation. After the raid, medical groups were called on to treat the
Japanese wounded. These groups were severely beaten because
"American planes were sinking the Japanese shipping." When requests
were made for medical aid (for the men in the holds) food and water, they were
beaten up and told that the Japanese would do nothing for the prisoners.
On the night of the 14th and the
morning of the 15th conditions grew worse. Men were suffering from
thirst so acutely; that many went out of their mind. Much screaming was audible. There was almost a complete lack of
discipline no matter how hard the hold leaders tried to restore order.
The need forward was so acute that the men were drinking their own urine
and sewage running in the open drains along the side of the ship. These hideous
actions were revealed to the Japanese but there was no action taken. The
hold was a bedlam with screaming, swearing and fighting. Men went berserk
and the conditions were like some fantastic nightmare.
On the nights of the 14th and 15th
the ship was bombed. The Japanese beached it making minor repairs, and
discharged all Japanese passengers, moving them back to Subic Bay. The
prisoners were still aboard. It was felt that the Japanese knew that the
ship would be bombed again and for that reason they took the Japanese
passengers off and left the prisoners on.
On the morning of the 15th, when the
ship was anchored in Subic Bay, about 3 yards offshore from Olongapo Naval Reservation,
near 0830 hours WAD came around and told the men that the prisoners would be
evacuated from the ship shortly; that they would not be able to take their
shoes or any other gear as they would have to swim. He said that the Japanese
were instructed to "shoot to kill" so they, the prisoners, had better
be very careful. Several of the guards fired into the holds prior to
evacuation. About 0930 hours the order to evacuate came through. Prior to this
order there had been an air raid in which a direct hit on the aft hold had been
made, and about 100 men were killed. There were no life preservers or
lifeboats in evidence. Men were forced over the side of the ship with no
regard given as to whether or not they could swim. While the men were
leaving the ship, six U.S. planes dived on the ship but just prior to the bomb
release point, the lead plane zoomed up and wagged its wings in recognition. No
bombs were released. During the swim for shore some of the men got aboard
the debris from the ship and attempted to float ashore. In one case a
raft with five men on it headed for shore, was fired upon by a machine gun set
up on shore. Two of the men on the raft leaped off into the water, the
remaining three were killed.
During the disorder of the evacuation, some of
the half-starved men attempted to salvage whatever food and medical supplies
available on the ship. While going in the compartments in search of food they
observed American cigarettes and candy usually in Red Cross parcels.
The food and medical supplies the men managed to
salvage were confiscated by the Japanese. During this salvage operation some
Japanese came upon the prisoners in the compartments and began firing on them.
Lt. 'FOSHINO came upon Lt. William H. Brewster in one of the compartments and
shot him, killing him instantly. Once on shore, the prisoners were assembled in
the area adjacent to a tennis court. During the period of assembling, the men
were permitted to fill their canteens at a water tap outside the tennis court,
but to do this they had to stand in line four to six hours. Fifty percent
of the prisoners received their first water since the night of the 13th;
the rest didn't get any because the Japanese, as a result of the confusion,
chased them back into their assembly area.
About 30 minutes later WADA came around and had the prisoners marched to
the tennis court, so that a count of men could be made against the rosters.
Placing such a large group of men in the area of a tennis court was
almost impossible. The court was surrounded by a chicken wire fence. A small area had been set aside for the
sick and wounded. There was not enough space for a person to stretch out
and lie down. Rosters were called off several times. All personnel were
told to give any information available to them on persons not present so as to
be able to determine how many men were dead missing and how many present.
In the gathering at the tennis court it was
learned that the conditions in the aft hold had been worse than the conditions
in the forward hold. Many of the deaths in this hold were caused by
suffocation. At roll call there were less than 1300 prisoners still alive out
of the 1619 that had left Manila. At 1430 hours American planes came back. On the 16th the water situation
was still very bad. On the evening of the 17th, one sack of
uncooked rice was issued for 130 men. This amounted to about two
tablespoons full for each man. The same amount of rice was issued on the 18th
and 19th. On the 20th the ration increased to four
tablespoons, all of this was eaten raw, although facilities for cooking were
stored close by and within sight.
While the prisoners were kept at the tennis
court, there was no provision made for protection against the sun. On the third
day the men were allowed to leave the court and go into the shade for a few
hours. Most of the men had only a pair
of shorts, some more fortunate, had shirts and some trousers; there were no
shoes or hats. At night it was very cold and since there were no blankets the
prisoners were forced to lie on the hard concrete and suffer from the cold.
While waiting at the tennis court, six or seven men died from wounds and
exhaustion and were buried nearby.
On about the 18th day, repeated
requests were made to the Japanese to hospitalize prisoner, Cpl Car; E. Logan,
USMC, who was suffering from a gangrenous arm.
Being no action was taken; it became necessary to amputate his arm at
the tennis court. A mess kit knife was used, as the surgical instrument,
no anesthetic and no medical supplies of any kind were provided by the
Japanese. Army medics Roland Stickney and Charles
Towne held Logan during the operation. Logan
had been shot in the arm by a guard aboard the Oryoku Maru. It had
swollen to incredible size, and the odor from it was overpowering. There was no
outcry from the patient, only a few groans and "Oh Doctor." Logan
survived a few days and subsequently died. It is alleged that Logan would
have had an excellent chance to live, if they had been given normal
hospitalization.
On the morning of December 20th, 500
of the men were taken to San Fernando, Pampanga and the second group left on
the 21st. The first group was placed in the provincial jail,
and the second group in the movie house. While there, the prisoners were
finally issued a canteen of rice. There was spigot at the theater with
running water and by keeping order everybody received enough water. Ample
water was also available at the jail.
About 1800 hours on 23 December, WADA came to
the two group commanders and wanted the 15 sickest men to be selected for
return to Manila for hospitalization. Among the group selected were
Lieutenant Dwight D. Edison, Lieutenant John W. Elliot, Lieutenant Colonel
Ulysses J.L. Peoples, Jr., Lieutenant Colonel Samuel W. Freeny, Pharmacists
Mate 2/c Deenah R. McCurry, Second Lieutenant Herman V. Sherman, Major Wendell
F. Swanson and eight other unidentified American Prisoners of War.
About 1900 hours, a truck was, brought to where the group was waiting and the
sick were driven to a small cemetery on the outskirts of San Fernando,
Pampanga. When they arrived at the cemetery there was a group of soldiers
who had dug a hole about 15 x 15 feet square. When the guards on the
truck had dismounted, they took up positions about the hole. Two of the guards
brought one of the prisoners to the hole. He was told to kneel at the
edge of the hole and to take a position as though in prayer. The prisoner was
bayoneted and decapitated. This procedure was followed until all fifteen of the
prisoners had either been bayoneted or decapitated. It is alleged that, at this
execution, both WADA and TOSHINO were present and that they supervised and took
part in it.
From San Fernando, Pampanga, the prisoners were
moved by train to San Fernando, La Union, on 24 December. The prisoners
were marched to the railroad station, where they were loaded into boxcars. WADA and TOSHINO had returned from the scene
of the execution by this time, WADA again apparently in command, instructed the
group commanders that 170 to 180 men would be put in each boxcar, which was
actually physically impossible. However, 40 men who were the sickest,
were allowed to be placed on top of the cars. During the trip the conditions in
the train were very bad. The heat was unbearable, and due to crowding and
lack of air, many men passed out. When a man became unconscious he was passed
from hand to hand to the door of the boxcar to revive.
The train arrived at San Fernando, La Union
about 0500 hours Christmas morning of 25 December 1944. The weather was
bitterly cold. The men were marched from the train to a schoolhouse, which was
about a half-mile to a mile from the railway station. When the group arrived at
the schoolhouse, WADA announced that water was available. A detail of men was
ordered to dig for water. After digging five feet below the surface,
water was found, and iodine was used for purification.
At 0900 on 25 December, orders were received
that the men were to line up and prepare for a march to the beach. On the
morning of 27 December, after remaining on the beach for two days and two
nights, the first group of 236 men were loaded aboard the Brazil Maru.
The remainder of the men on the beach were loaded aboard the Enoura Maru.
The men were marched to the piers where landing barges were waiting to
carry them out to the transports. While loading into the barges men were
compelled to jump from the pier into the barges, some 20 feet below. If a man
hesitated before jumping the guard would push him off the pier. In
several instances men broke their legs. In one case, one man missed the
barge completely, hitting his head on the side of the barge and falling into
the water, when this man was finally dragged into the barge he was dead. All
during this time the loading proceeded, it is alleged that TOSHINO and WADA
were present on the pier and witnessed all the incidents that occurred during
the loading operations.
The Brazil Maru was an old freighter of about
2,500 tons. It was armed and was loaded with sick and healthy Japanese
soldiers. During the six-day trip from the Philippines to Takao, Formosa, no
food was received during the first two days except the food leavings of the
five Formosan guards. This amounted to about one teaspoon of rice per man. On
the third day an issue was made which was three men per mess kit of food. On
the fourth day there was no food at all. On the fifth day prisoners were
issued five Japanese rolls per man. These rolls were a type of hard tack
infested with maggots and mold.
AlI
of the prisoners on the Enoura Maru (about I 0,000 tons) were confined to one
hold with two levels, forward of amid-ships. The condition was very crowded but
not as bad as on the Oryoku Maru. A man could lie down here by doubling
up his legs. The food was scarce and there was a little water and soup
available once a day. The amounts received were small but were much greater
than those received by the prisoners aboard the Brazil Maru.
During
the period (of the trip) between San Fernando and Takao, Formosa, there were 16
deaths. These 16 deceased were buried at sea. 236 men were
moved from the Brazil Maru to the Enoura Maru in Takao Harbor, on or about 6
January 1945.
During the 7th, 8th and 9th
of January the men received one mess kit of rice for each four men, with
one-half cup of soup for each four men. In the afternoon of the 8th
of January, the Japanese ordered all men in the lower level of the hold to be
moved into the forward hold so that sugar could be stored in the lower level.
Approximately two-thirds of the men had been moved from the hold when the
Japanese guards on the deck indicated that the other one third would be
absorbed into the upper level, which created an overcrowded condition more than
originally, since it was overcrowded initially.
Men were so hungry that they stole sugar despite the threat
by WADA that drastic punishment would be meted out. WADA stated "anyone
who stole sugar would be severely punished individually and the balance of the
group would be punished collectively for an unspecified period."
On 9 January in midmorning, during the completion of the
morning meal, anti-aircraft fire was heard on the Enoura Maru and on all ships
in the harbor. Soon the drone of planes was heard and almost
simultaneously the whistle of bombs was heard. The Enoura Maru rocked violently
from a near miss, causing a flail of bomb fragments and steel fragments from
the sides of the ship, which killed about 300 men outright and injured a
considerable number. After the bombing, first aid as could be rendered to men
was made available by Prisoner of War doctors and corpsmen aboard. This
aid consisted of collecting dirty towels, undershirts, or anything that could
be used for bandages that the other Prisoners would contribute. Outside
of a few first aid kits, which the doctors and corpsmen may have had, there was
no medicine made available by the Japanese. In fact, no aid was rendered
until the 11th of January, when two Japanese enlisted hospital
corpsmen announced they would treat those with minor injuries or wounds only.
Treatment consisted of dabbing injuries with Mercurochrome. They further
stated that they were not interested in treating the more seriously injured.
The dead bodies in the holds were stacked in the center of
the hatch area like stacks of cordwood. They remained there until the
12th of January. During this time, a majority of the men who were wounded and
who soon thereafter died from those wounds, could have been saved with proper medical
attention but with lack of bandages and medicines it was impossible for the
doctors to do much for them.
Finally in mid-morning of 12 January, permission was granted
to remove the dead bodies from the ship. The bodies were removed by placing
them into cargo slings and lowered over the side of the ship into barges. Some
of the dead were removed individually by tying ropes around the legs or arms
and hauling them up onto the deck, then lowering them into the barges.
The scene in the holds was like a page from Dante's Inferno-dark, but one
could see the wraithlike figures wandering dazedly through a maze of stacked
corpses. It was not uncommon prior to
the removal of the dead, to sit on the dead and eat their meals due to the
overcrowded conditions. Items of salvageable clothing that could be removed
from the dead were removed. Many of the bodies were in various stages of
decomposition when they were finally removed.
During the afternoon of 13 January, orders came through from
WADA that all the prisoners aboard the Enoura Maru would be transferred to the
Brazil Maru. Reasons for this change were that the Enoura Maru had been badly
damaged during the bombing. Transfer to the Brazil Maru was affected by
landing barges. The move was completed in late afternoon. The wounded men,
fracture cases, etc., suffered great pain in transfer as in some cases they
were lowered into boats by ropes and hoisted aboard ship in the same manner.
At this time, there were approximately 900 men remaining alive out of
the original group of 1619. The ship sailed from Takao on the 13th
of January for Japan.
The trip from Takao to Moji, Japan lasted from 13 January
until 29 January. During the trip there
were two issues of cooked rice a day. There were two three men to a lightly
packed canteen cup of rice. No soup was issued at all. This diet was augmented by whatever sugar
the men could steal. Numerous protests to the prisoner commanders brought no
results. A diagnosis for the cause of the high death rate aboard the
Brazil Maru was due to a combination of malnutrition, dehydration and exposure.
During the journey there was active trading for rings,
watches and fountain pens between the prisoners and the Japanese guards and the
ship's crew for food, water and cigarettes. A number of West Point and other
graduation rings were traded for a cup of water or ten cigarettes. Anyone who
had anything to trade did so.
The water situation was very acute for the first two days
out of Takao harbor. No liquids of any kind were issued. On the 15th,
approximately twice a day until the 29th, water was spooned out.
It was black, salty and unpalatable no time even when the death rate was
at its highest was the amount of water increased.
Medical facilities aboard the ship were nil. Only the
more seriously sick were placed under the hatch, which was considered as the
hospital area. It was the coldest spot on the ship. Whenever a man was placed
in sickbay, it was almost a certainty that he would die. Only the men in
the last stages were taken there. The doctor and medical corpsmen had no
medicines or bandages, nothing whatever to work with. It is said that one
large bottle of sulfathiazol pills aboard the Brazil Maru probably would have
saved at least 100 men whose diarrhea was a contributing cause to their death.
When the ship first left Takao on the night of 13 January,
about 15 men died. Bodies were stacked
in the hospital area after first being stripped of all clothing by the hospital
corpsmen under orders. Available clothing was distributed to the men who
most needed it. Bodies were collected over a two or three-day period
before permission was obtained from WADA to get a burial detail to throw them
overboard. The first group of dead was about fifty, generally bodies
would be taken up on deck and buried daily. It got progressively worse, finally
reaching a maximum of about forty dead per day for the few days prior to
arrival in Japan. Men outside of the hospital area, who had previously shown no
evidence of suffering more than the rest, would be found dead in the morning.
This became so commonplace that a hospital corpsman would make a circuit of all
bays each morning and shout, "Roll 0 your dead." Bay leaders would then check their
bays."
A
Chaplain prisoner led the men in prayer every night until he died five days out
of Takao. Another Chaplain gave all of his food and water to the sick until he
too died. Another Chaplain who overtaxed his strength by helping sick died.
Two or three times a day the roll would be called and if a
man's name was called without an answer, someone would say "dead" or
give the circumstances regarding his death, such as suffocation aboard the
Oryoku Maru. Even though the list had been called many times previously,
this was done by order of the Japanese.
The ship finally arrived in Moji, Japan on 29 January
1945. It was met by a large boarding
party of officers, enlisted men and civilians.
It was announced in mid-morning that clothing would be issued
topside. There were about 45 men alive
then. It was bitterly cold. The prisoners were issued a pair of
wool rousers, a blouse, a suit of cotton underwear, but no socks. Shoes, were captured British shoes, and were
issued without regard to size.
This was the first time since 13 December that there was
enough water available for each man to have as much as he wanted. However, the
men were cautioned that the water might be contaminated and that they had
better take it easy. Later on, food was issued, but many of the men were so
sick they were unable to eat.
When the men disembarked from the ship they were walking
skeletons. The Japanese corpsmen seemed to have a look of astonishment on their
faces. There was shocked expressions on
the faces, of the people at Moji, as the prisoners were marched through the
streets. Men shuffled, some walked with the support of others. The
men were infested with lice and had not shaved since the 13th of
December.
When the prisoners died aboard the Brazil Maru, they were
stacked like cordwood. All of them presented a uniform appearance; lips were
drawn back exposing teeth in a half snarl due to skin contraction, ribs seemed
to be bursting out of the bodies and where the stomach would be was a hollow,
legs and arms were pipe stems. A combination of cold and rigor mortis gave them
a rigid unreal appearance. The eyes were sunken. Most of them were
stripped nude and all of them gave a definite appearance of starvation.
Lt. Col. Austin J. Montgomery is at present in Tokyo. Col.
Montgomery is one of the survivors of the infamous Oryoku Maru. He will be a
witness in the case against the accused. He will give eyewitness accounts
as to what occurred during the voyage. Col. Montgomery's home address is 1475
Greenleaf Street, Sherman Oaks, California.
At the outbreak of the war, Col. Montgomery was a member of
the Philippine Division. He was a motor
transport officer for the 2 Corps and commanding officer of the 1st Battalion,
12th Quartermaster Regiment Philippine Scouts. After participating in the defense of Bataan
and the eventual fall of Bataan, Montgomery moved to Corregidor where he was
taken prisoner by the Japanese forces on 6 May 1942.
From Corregidor he was moved to the mainland and held
prisoner at the Cabanatuan POW Camp until October 1942. In November 1942 he was
moved with a group of prisoners to the Davao Penal colony where he remained
until June of 1944. While at the Davao Camp, Col. Montgomery was the prisoner
of war Adjutant. During June 1944, Col. Montgomery was moved back to Cabanatuan
camp where he remained until word was received that all able bodied prisoners
would be sent to Old Bilibid Prisoner of War Camp for eventual shipment to
Japan. After suffering the horrors of the trip on ship from Manila to Moji,
Japan, Montgomery moved to the Fukuoka Prisoner War Camp #1, arriving there 30
January 1945. In April 1945 he was transferred from the Fukuoka Camp #1
to Jinsen, Korea, remaining there until the surrender of the Japanese forces to
General MacArthur. During the time he was incarcerated at the Jinsen
Camp, Col. Montgomery was Liaison Officer between the Prisoners of War and the
Japanese captors.
The Voyage began on December 13, 1944 in Manila,
Philippines.
The Voyage ended on January 30, 1945 in Moji, Japan.
1619
Total POW Passengers (100%)
1187 Killed or Died Enroute
161 Died shortly after arrival
1348 Total killed or died (83%0
271 Survivors (17%)