Known as "The Diddled Dozen" - Courtesy of Jim Mockford -extracted from the memoir called "Quig" by Donald Quigley

Front row left to right: 1st Lt. Freland K. Mathews, 1st Lt. James Wall , 1st Lt. Vern D. Shaefer, Donald Quigley, 2nd Lt. James Thomas, Capt. Don Burch.
Back Row left to right: 2 Lt Sam McMillan, Lt. James Taylor 1st Lt. Harry Klota, Howard, 1st Lt.Walter A. Ferris, 2nd Lt Sam Chambliss

From "Quig" memoir:
Captain Don Burch, shot down in a P-40 by ground fire at Yellow River Bridge on Sept. 21, 1944
2nd Lt. James Thomas shot down P-40 on Sept. 4, 1944
Lt. James Taylor shot down by ground fire in a P-51 on Nov. 11, 1944
1st Lt. Vern D. Shaefer, B-29 Pilot bailed out Nov. 23, 1944
1st Lt. Freland K. Mathews, shot down by ground fire in a P-40 Jan. 14, 1945
1st Lt.Walter A. Ferris, shot down by ground fire in a P-51 Jan 16, 1945
[Shaefer, Mathews & Ferris joined Quig and some others Feb. 19 just past noon - at the Kiangwan prison camp near Nanking]
2nd Lt Sam Chambliss joined the group on May 23, 1945, having been shot down by ground fire in a P-51 on April 15, 1945.
2nd Lt. Sam McMillan shot down in P-40 over China- 12 Jan 1945,
1st Lt. James Wall shot down by ground fire in a P-51 on December 6, 1944 arrived on June 6
1st Lt. Harry Klota came into the camp the same day having been shot down by ground fire in a P-51 on April 2, 1945. Harry came in on crutches having broke his leg on impact. The Japanese in a "Field-type of setting" amputated his leg just below the knee. At the camp there was a prisoner who was a US Navy Chaplain who took a look at Harry's leg and changed the dressing.

The group as well as other prisoners were sent from the Shanghai area by train to Peking, Mukden and down to Korea where they boarded a ship to Japan on June 28, 1945 and eventually ended up at Sapporo after a long train ride across the whole island of Honshu. The 12 American pilots now refered to themselves as "The Diddled Dozen." So your photo of the 12 POWs is in fact "The Diddled Dozen."

On August 15, 1945 they were informed of the surrender and the Japanese were told that they should remain where they were for pickup. About 3 days later a B-29 dropped a message to the men and supplies followed. The Japanese now took care to make conditions better and they got a variety of food and charcoal to cook things themselves, even beer and sake arrived. They got to bathe at a local bath house. They received a little pay for the weeding of a potato patch they had done. Some Swiss Red Cross reps arrived to check on them, and some other American and British prisoners were brought to their camp. On Sept. 11 they were taken by bus to an air strip and flown out of Sapporo to Okinawa and then Manila. They were sent back to the US by "Slow Boat" to San Francisco and sent to Letterman Hospital for deworming, shots, etc.

By comparing the faces identified in the photo of the 12 hereby identified, perhaps you can correlate to the photo of the larger group and that only leaves a few unidentified.