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Service Details |
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Last Rank
Lieutenant Colonel
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Last Service Branch
Field Artillery
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Last Primary MOS
1193-Field Artillery Unit Commander
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Last MOS Group
Field Artillery (Officer)
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Primary Unit
1942-1944, 1193, POW/MIA
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Service Years
1917 - 1944
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Personal Details
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Home State
Nebraska | |
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Year of Birth
1896 |
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This Military Service Page was created/owned by
COL Samuel Russell
to remember
Hunter, Richard Grant, LTC.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
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Casualty Info
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Home Town
Wayne |
Last Address
Not Specified |
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Casualty Date
Oct 24, 1944 |
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Cause
Hostile, Died while Captured |
Reason
Other Cause |
Location
Philippines |
Conflict
WWII - Asiatic-Pacific Theater |
Location of Interment
Buried at Sea, Pacific Ocean |
Wall/Plot Coordinates
Not Specified |
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1916-1917, HHC, 4th Infantry
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1917-1917, HHC, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry
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1917-1919, HHC, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry
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1924-1925, 1st Battalion, 13th Field Artillery Regiment
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1941-1944, 1193, 91st Coast Artillery
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1942-1944, 1193, POW/MIA
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Last Known Activity
The sinking of the Arisan Maru
After dark the ship left the harbor, and the men discovered the ship was heading south and not towards Japan. It had joined a convoy accompanied by a destroyer. The ships were about 200 miles south of Manila and went into coves in the islands. They were trying to elude American forces in the area. The ship then returned to Manila, arriving there around October 20. The next day they joined a convoy heading towards Japan.
The men received scant amounts of rice and water while on board. The heat proved unbearable, and about a third of the men suffered from dysentery and malaria. The stench grew steadily in the confined quarters. The Japanese dispensed no medicine. They did however issue life preservers which served to increase the fear of them. Many men lost their spirit and will to live and had fits. The othe men had to hold them down.
On the 24th of October, some of the POWs saw Japanese running toward the rear of the ship and they witnessed the wake of a torpedo heading towards the ship. It barely missed the ship. A second torpedo also misfired. Then a torpedo successfully hit midship on the starboard side. The ship buckled in the middle, but the forward part of the ship stayed level. This was where the Americans were. They Japanese cut the rope ladder to the forward hold, and closed the latches on the second hold. They boarded life boats and headed for two destroyers.
Some of the Americans managed to get on deck and threw rope ladders down to the men below them. Some of the men jumped overboard once on deck. Some attempted to swim toward the destroyers, but were then struck with long poles from the Japanese. Some of the men who had remained on board went to the galley and hit the food supplies. The ship began to break into two pieces and sunk.
According to the Japanese Prisoners of War Informations Bureau listed 1,778 of the 1,782 prisonere as deceased. However, a few were picked by the Haro Maru and taken to Taiwan. Five survived in the sea and a Chinese junk ship took them aboard and they were helped by the Chinese to an American air strip.
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Comments/Citation
The Japanese Freighter Arisan Maru was torpedoed by an American submarine on October 24, 1944. There were 1800 POWs aboard - 1795 died. This Hell Ship sank in the South China Sea making it the worst naval disaster in the history of the United States. |
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