The term "Hell Ship" is used for
the obvious reason of denoting the horrendous conditions aboard those vessels
used by the Japanese to transport prisoners during World War II. The
Japanese did not mark their ships which carried the POW's and were frequent
targets of Allied bombs and torpedoes. Many Hell Ships left the
Philippines bound for Japan, Korea and China. These are only the
ships on which the 7th Material Squadron lost men and some links dedicated
to those events.
The Arisan Maru
The 7th Material Squadron lost 18 men when the Arisan
Maru was hit by a torpedo and sunk on October 24, 1944. Alton L.
Anderson, Edwin T. Booth, Dante A. De Laurentis, Ethler E. Delo Jr., Alvie
R. Donley, William Dorsett, Murray Gottlieb, Kenneth H. Hanson, Rodney
H. Moore, Fred E. Ratcliff, Oran H. Richardson, Dalton D. Russell, Edward
Sadesky, J. W. Sinclair, Charles L Spurlock, Howard C. Tisdale, Clayton
E. Van Steenberg and Max W. Walker all lost their lives that day.
The ship was en route to Japan at the time.
The sinking of the Arisan Maru
http://www.compunews.com/gus/arisan.htm
William E. Bowen’s Arisan Maru Roster
http://harrisonheritage.com/adbc/arisan.htm
The Brazil Maru
The 7th Material Squadron lost two men on this voyage,
Charles Moore, on the 14th of January, 1945 and James R. Price on January
25th, 1945. It is likely that they survived the Enoura Maru and were
transferred to this ship. The ship was en route to Japan at the
time.
The Enoura Maru
The 7th Material Squadron lists 1 man, Lee R. Rutherford,
lost on the 1st of September, 1945 aboard this vessel but the ship was
disabled at Takao Harbor, Formosa on the 9th of January, 1945. All
the POW's were removed by the 13th of January, so it seems unlikely that
this is the correct ship.
The Oryoku Maru
The 7th Material Squadron lost three men on this voyage,
Paul T. George, Jack L. Kaster and Jack W. Kelly, all on the 15th
of December, 1944, when the ship was sunk in Subic Bay, Luzon, P.I. Another
man on the roster, Alfred Espinoza, is listed as having died aboard on
January 23rd, 1945, but it is likely (because of the date) that he survived
the sinking and died on another vessel. The ship was en route to Japan
at the time.
For the latest on a Memorial dedicated to those lives lost on Hell
Ships;