| Hakodate POW Camp #4 Ashibetsu, Hokkaido |
| Location: SORACHI-gun, ASHIBETSU-machi, AZA NISHI ASHIBETSU Satellite map Aerial (Sept. 1947; courtesy of Japan Map Archives) Area map Timeline: 24 June 1945: Camp established 05 July 1945: Americans arrive from China Sep 1945: Rescue effected Overview: Branch #4 had 3 British, 52 Americans and 45 Australians. Most of the Americans were captured on Wake Island or were shot down over China. The Australians came from Rabaul and Kavieng via Zentsuji on the Naruto Maru. On May 9, 1945, Americans from Wake plus some captured aviators were taken from Shaghai POW camp by box cars to Nanking and Peking for a month. In June, they were sent down through Korea to the port of Pusan then on to Hakodate Branch Camp, arriving on 5 July 1945. The officers handled braces above ground for the coal mine. |
Labor: POWs were engaged in labor for self-support. Hellships: Australians known to have arrived on the Naruto Maru thence first sent to Zentsuji. Wake POWS were sent to China on the Nitta Maru. Rosters: Total = 100 POWs (52 American, 45 Australian, 3 British) Americans Australians and British See Hakodate Overview for archival originals of rosters. Books: Hutchinsen-Smith, David Chadwick: "Guests of the Samurai" Forty-two Months in Durance Vile: Prisoner of the Japanese by R. Keith Mitchell (2014) - numerous photos, maps and sketches |
