A Japanese merchant ship that sank during World War II while carrying over 1,000 prisoners of war in Australias largest loss of life at sea has been found.
RickJ said
05:46 PM Apr 22, 2023
I am sure this will provide at the least, partial closure for many Australians for lost family members.
We will remember them, Lest we forget.
-- Edited by RickJ on Saturday 22nd of April 2023 08:06:54 PM
Cupie said
10:37 PM Apr 22, 2023
This brings back some difficult memories for me ..
- I lost an Uncle who was being transported from Singapore to Japan as a slave labourer, when his ship was sunk.
- My Father spent the duration (4-5 years) as a guest of the emperor after the fall of Singapore, working on the Burma Railway & held in Changi POW Jail for a period.
- Below is an extract of a workmate's memories of his experiences in Singapore & Japan. He had worked on the infamous railway as had my Father & Uncle
"I left Singapore on the 5th June again, this time per sea, in a captured French Motorship, named the Aramis.
Arrived at Moojee Japan on the 15th June, 10 days. This was one time I was lucky, some journeys to Japan lasted months.
150 Australians were then sent to a Camp 17, at a place called Omuta. There were 500 Yank prisoners from the Philippines there, coal mining.
We joined these Yanks coal mining.
We were still working in the mine till the end of the war.
I had been buried in a mine cave in early August 1945, and was recovering from a fractured leg ?? in the camp when were told the war was over on the 18th of August.
By then the number of POWs in Camp 17 had grown to nearly 2,000. The Japs were shipping them back from other camps outside Japan. One of their main aims to foil any efforts of the Allies to liberate them. They also had other sinister plans for all POWs.
The entrance to the mine was per a cable car that went down a slope that went out under the sea, from memory eight levels. Each level had a station where workers and their Masters were dropped off and picked up from.
At times, some of these lower levels would flood and we would wade waist high to get to higher levels. We would work near naked as the temperate was very high due to insufficient ventilation.
When our shift was finished, ie. We had extracted the required tonnage of coal for the Emperor and returned Topside", it could be snowing.
So this is what I now blame for all the body aches and pains that I have now. The abrupt change of temperature, and can not get any relief for Poor Bugger Me
One day, after my mine accident, we saw the great mushroom cloud ? over Nagasaki way, and felt the ground shake, we thought the Yank bombers had hit a large oil storage or ammunition dump. The next few days the Jap guards were rolling their eyes and yabbering on about a large bomb being dropped.
So, I had the joy of seeing the Atom Bomb over Nagasaki. I was disappointed that there weren't another hundred or so dropped on Japan ... that is after my mates and self were out of the way.
A lot of publicity is given to the Atom bombs, but while they were one big bang, Japan was well and truly flattened before they were dropped. "
-- Edited by Cupie on Saturday 22nd of April 2023 10:38:37 PM
World War II shipwreck of SS Montevideo Maru, which sank with over 1,000 POWs, found in South China Sea:
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/04/21/asia/montevideo-maru-found-south-china-sea-intl-hnk/index.html
A Japanese merchant ship that sank during World War II while carrying over 1,000 prisoners of war in Australias largest loss of life at sea has been found.
I am sure this will provide at the least, partial closure for many Australians for lost family members.
We will remember them,
Lest we forget.
-- Edited by RickJ on Saturday 22nd of April 2023 08:06:54 PM
This brings back some difficult memories for me ..
- I lost an Uncle who was being transported from Singapore to Japan as a slave labourer, when his ship was sunk.
- My Father spent the duration (4-5 years) as a guest of the emperor after the fall of Singapore, working on the Burma Railway & held in Changi POW Jail for a period.
- Below is an extract of a workmate's memories of his experiences in Singapore & Japan. He had worked on the infamous railway as had my Father & Uncle
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I left Singapore on the 5th June again, this time per sea, in a captured French Motorship, named the Aramis.
Arrived at Moojee Japan on the 15th June, 10 days. This was one time I was lucky, some journeys to Japan lasted months.
150 Australians were then sent to a Camp 17, at a place called Omuta. There were 500 Yank prisoners from the Philippines there, coal mining.
We joined these Yanks coal mining.
We were still working in the mine till the end of the war.
I had been buried in a mine cave in early August 1945, and was recovering from a fractured leg ?? in the camp when were told the war was over on the 18th of August.
By then the number of POWs in Camp 17 had grown to nearly 2,000. The Japs were shipping them back from other camps outside Japan. One of their main aims to foil any efforts of the Allies to liberate them. They also had other sinister plans for all POWs.
The entrance to the mine was per a cable car that went down a slope that went out under the sea, from memory eight levels. Each level had a station where workers and their Masters were dropped off and picked up from.
At times, some of these lower levels would flood and we would wade waist high to get to higher levels. We would work near naked as the temperate was very high due to insufficient ventilation.
When our shift was finished, ie. We had extracted the required tonnage of coal for the Emperor and returned Topside", it could be snowing.
So this is what I now blame for all the body aches and pains that I have now. The abrupt change of temperature, and can not get any relief for Poor Bugger Me
One day, after my mine accident, we saw the great mushroom cloud ? over Nagasaki way, and felt the ground shake, we thought the Yank bombers had hit a large oil storage or ammunition dump. The next few days the Jap guards were rolling their eyes and yabbering on about a large bomb being dropped.
So, I had the joy of seeing the Atom Bomb over Nagasaki. I was disappointed that there weren't another hundred or so dropped on Japan ... that is after my mates and self were out of the way.
A lot of publicity is given to the Atom bombs, but while they were one big bang, Japan was well and truly flattened before they were dropped. "
-- Edited by Cupie on Saturday 22nd of April 2023 10:38:37 PM