Source: NARA RG 331 Box 940
Transcribed by: Roger Mansell

WEM/hlm
18 January 1946.

Memorandum:
Subject: Investigation of Prisoner of War, Nagoya Sub Camp #2, Narumi.
To: Chief, Investigation Division.

By direction of the Chief, Investigation Division, Captain, A. M. D'Angelo, and 2nd. Lt. William E. H. Maulsby, accompanied by Tech 4 Shigetoshi R. Imazumi, as interpreter, proceeded to Narumi, Nagoya, Honshu Japan, and made an investigation of Nagoya, a Prisoner of War Camp, Sub Camp #2, between 5 January 1946 and 9 January 1946.

Contact was made with Yuze ODA, former Major in the Japanese army and presently Chief of Staff of the Tokai Demobilization Office in Nagoya, who furnished the following background information of the camp.

Prior to 5 April 1945 subject camp was under control of Osaka Chubu Army, with headquarters at Osaka, and that all records pertaining to the camp till that date should be at the Demobilization Office in Osaka; that on 11 February 1945 Tokai Army Headquarters was formed at Nagoya, and among its duties, was the administration of the POW camps in the Nagoya area, which included Branch Camp #2 at Narumi. Command was assumed on 6 April 1945 and certain changes, respecting the Japanese personnel and the administrative policy were affected at that time. By this statement it is the writer's opinion that OBA was attempting to say that under his command the administration of a camp and the treatment of the POWs was better, and this is in some degree consistent with some of the statements of the repatriated POWs. This is undoubtedly due to the fact that in April Tokai Army Headquarters established five new sub-camps, numbered 6 to 11 inclusive and where conditions were crowded in the former camps, prisoners were moved to the new locations there they seem to receive better treatment, as indicated by their statements.

1. Location.
The camp is located 4 km Southeast of the Village of Narumi, on the slope of a hill about 500 feet above sea level. The international coordinates are 35° 05" North 136° 54" east.

The closest military objective is the Yagima Steel Company, which is 1 km south of the camp. Although the camp was bombed on one occasion, the steel company was not, and it is in the writer's opinion that the location of the camp was not in such a position as to be within the radius of a military objective. However, it would seem that the camp was in as much danger of bombing, as it would have been otherwise by reason of its isolation and the failure of the Japanese to identify it to Allied airmen as a POW camp. This was done after the cessation of hostilities and packages were dropped to the prisoners.

2. Description (see exhibit "A"):
The camp was constructed entirely of one story, wooden building, laid out on three levels of elevation 20 feet in height, connected by wooden stairways. There was a wooden fence, 8 feet high surrounding the entire camp (include 1).

The barracks buildings contain two floors, the lower one about 1 ½ feet from the ground and the upper about 5 feet above, reached by ladders at each end of the building, which were approximately 140 feet in length and 25 feet in width. It is the writer's opinion that allowing a 6 foot space for each man. The 267 prisoners would not have been too crowded in their buildings.

Remains of heating facilities consisted of three charcoal pits in each barracks building. In addition, there were two stoves in this building, but due to their condition it is believed they had not been in use and were possibly put there subsequent to the departure of the prisoners (include #2, photo).

No evidence of electrical fixtures could be found.

3. Utilization.
Prisoners of war were employed at the Daido Electric Steel Company and the Nippon Vehicle Manufacturing Company located in the center of Nagoya City (include 3). They were transported daily to and from the plant by the electric train, the distance of 14 km taking about half an hour. They were employed as common laborers for the most part, but those having skills in the operation of lathes, etc., were used according to their capacities. Much of the work was forging iron castings.

Clothing for the prisoners consisted of these items worn when captured. Plus some salvaged Japanese military clothing. "Tabi" shoes were supplied by the factory.

4. Prisoner of War Personnel:
Japanese Staff List (include #4). [missing]

Interned Personnel (include #5). [missing]

5. Guards.
Guard Roster (include #6).

6. Work and Recreation.

a. Hours and days off: prisoners worked six to eight hours daily. During the day they were given one hour off for lunch and two 15 minute breaks, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The time consumed for transportation to and from the camp was not considered as working time. There were no specifically designated days off, but it worked out that the prisoners had three or four days free each month. Phonographs and books were provided for use during their free time and when they were not at work, the prisoners were allowed freedom of the campground. Wages were one yen a day, with commensurate increases for the skilled workers.

b. Election of spokesman: the ranking prisoner of war was automatically appointed by the Japanese as spokesman for the prisoners.
c. Procedure for Red Cross distribution: Red Cross supplies were turned over to the POWs by the camp officials and just distribution was handled by them. A report of such distribution was rendered to the camp officials, but they were periodically burned and only those dating from April 1945 are available (include #7). [missing]

d. Religious Freedom: prisoners were permitted to hold prayer meetings at their discretion, so long as it did not interfere with their work. Normally, services were conducted by a POW, but occasionally, a missionary was present.

e. Canteen: a canteen was operated by the POWs under the supervision of a Japanese official. Articles normally sold were as follows:
coffee, black tea, fruit, canned food, pepper, candy.
In cases where certain articles were not available in the canteen, they were purchased by Japanese officials at the request of the prisoners.

7. Food.

Quantity and quality of food was based upon that issued to Japanese military personnel, as follows:

Principal Foods:
(A) Type: hulled rice, hulled wheat, hulled koliang.
(B) quantity: 700 g per day per man.

Subsidiary Articles:
(A) type (depending upon season).
Beef, pork, fish, garden radish, onion, pumpkin, undaria pinnatafida, wheat powder, bean curd, bean mash, soy, salt, bean oil and sugar.
(B) quantity (per man, per day):
vegetables, 500 g.
Bean mash, 60 g.
soy,. 055 L.
Wheat powder, 20 g.
Sugar, 10 g.
Salt, 20 g. Animal meat, 20 g.
Fish, 75 g.
Bean curd, 10 g.
eating oil, 4.2 g.
Calories per person per day were at least 3000, and for heavy laborers 3500 or over. In addition, over 800 calories were distributed by the factory space (include #8). Food was prepared and served by the POWs. [stated by Japanese official long after war ended. Actual calorie count was well below 1000 by 1945]

8. Medical:

a. The medical officer was, whenever possible, a POW, assisted by a Japanese NCO, who requisitioned medical supplies as he deemed it necessary. Nothing could be determined from a physical inspection of the dispensary (include #9), as all medical supplies had been removed to Nagoya Base Camp upon liberation of the prisoners. From all appearances, it had been fairly well equipped and seem to have been kept in a sanitary condition. Following is a list of the patients:

Nationality, Grade, Name, Disease, Condition
American, Sergeant Scranton, Jerry R., Active rheumatismable - able to sit.
American, Corporal Strickland, Boyce L., Chronic rheumatismable - able to sit.
American, Private Bragg, Herman L., acute pneumonia-stretcher.
American, Private Burnett, Wilburn, beriberi - able to sit.
American, Private Hoxworth, Durward, beriberi- able to sit
American, Private Noll, Charles J., Beriberi - able to sit.
Dutch, Private Eath, Ore Loewy K., acute bronchitis- able to sit

A. "Ward" was maintained to accommodate approximately 16 patients. Bedding consisted of straw mats over wooden flooring (include #10). In the rear of the building were two closet type latrines and a concrete floor type urinal. These have been freshly sprayed with lime, immediately prior to our arrival, but it was apparent that at the time of use they were not kept in a sanitary condition (include #11).

B. Deaths (American):
Rank, Name, Disease, Date of Death. Burial
Peters, Raymond C., EOWT, Active colitis and beriberi,24 July 1945 cremation
Waggoner, Doyle W., NAOM, Beriberi & Large intestinalitis, 17 July 1945 cremation. [actual cause- beaten to death - murdered]

Ashes of the deceased were taken away by liberated POWs. No records existed, other than the above "roster of deceased ".

9. Sanitation:

Latrine – the camp compound contained three latrines, one for each occupied barracks. They were 60 feet long by 12 feet wide, wooden buildings. In the north side of these buildings were built 18 closet type latrines with a 20" x 10" opening in the flooring to serve as a commode. On the south side was a concrete urinal, running the full length of the building. They were all in fair sanitary condition at the time of inspection (include #12). However, there was no evidence of a separately designated latrine for dysentery cases.

Washing facilities – adjacent to each latrine was a washstand containing 20 faucets, and wooden troughs. The general condition of these washed stands was considered fair as they were clean, but the water running from a faucets was very brown in color and did not clear after being allowed to run for 10 minutes. Half of the faucets had been turned up for drinking purposes. There were no side walls enclosing the washed stands, but they were covered by a wooden roof. The entire water supply for the camp was obtained from a storage tank into which water was pumped from a well by an electric pump space (include #13).

Bathing facilities – the bathroom was a rectangular wooden building, 42 feet long by 34 feet wide, which contain an 8 foot square bathtub and 12 showerheads. At the time of inspection, the bathroom appeared to be in very sanitary condition. Water was piped from the storage tank to the boiler room, where it was heated and thence piped to the bathroom (include #14).

Kitchen – the kitchen was in a building 48 feet long by 34 feet wide, with a concrete floor. Along the north side of the building was a row of metal cauldrons embedded in concrete. These were heated by feeding coal into the opening in the concrete below the cauldron. At the time of inspection the cauldrons were very rusted and in an exceptionally unsanitary condition. All cooking, and messing utensils had been removed (include #15). Prisoners ate their meals in their respective barracks on wooden tables (#16) and each one had a china bowl with his name on it, which was his responsibility to keep clean. The cooks and kitchen police were assigned by the POW medical officer, according to their physical condition, those unable to perform heavy labor in the factory or those recuperating from an illness.

10. Safety Measures Employed:

Air raid shelters were dug under each barracks, running the full length of the building, but at the time of inspection the entrances were blocked by wooden covers. Upon removal, it was found that these shelters were cluttered with debris and filled with approximately 2 feet of water, as there was no outlet for it (include #17). Due to the frequency of air raids, an additional shelter was dug which could accommodate 600 persons (include #1), but the shelter was found to be flooded also (include #18). There were fire guards posted at various places by the POW ranking officer for duty during the night. These were drawn from those men who were not fit for work at the factory.

11. Punishment and Discipline:

It was explained that as POWs were used as employees at the factory, discipline was not paramount and physical fitness was stressed. A prison official asserted that there was a book at the prison which contain rules, of International Law and they were adhered to in so far as was possible. The senior officer of the POWs meted out the punishment, which were imposed for minor offenses. Food stealing was punished by confinement. Serious offenses, such as plotting to escape, were referred to Nagoya Main Headquarters, where punishment was ordered by Colonel Otaka, who was then in command. However, no beatings were observed by the camp official, who conducted the writers through the camp. All documents relating to punishment were burnt when the war ended.

12. Discussions and comment.

Except for personal physical inspection at the camp area all information contained herein has been obtained from Japanese personnel. It is to be noted that by the time of this inspection, all signs of camp administration have disappeared and all Japanese personnel have personal knowledge of such information have been demobilized. It has been learned in addition that all information available at the time of liberation was collected by either Recovery Teams or CIC personnel, but their reports have not yet reached GHQ for the reason that the headquarters of these various units were not situated in Japan at the time they were made, most of them apparently have gone to Manila. Copies do not seem to have been retained, making reliance on Japanese personnel necessary.

13. Conclusion.

In comparison with some of the other POW camps, it was apparent that the physical setup at Branch Camp No.2 at Narumi was fair. The prisoners were not crowded together, and the location of the camp itself would have been good had the Japanese marked the building sufficiently to protect the POWs from exposure to air raids. However, they did not do this and so, from the standpoint of protection, the POWs were in no better position than if the camp had been in close proximity to a military objective. It is difficult to reach any direct conclusion concerning the treatment of the prisoners, but this much can fairly be said, that there was no physical evidence of mistreatment. IE, no torture devices were noted in the solitary confinement room was large enough to accommodate one man. No writings left by the POWs were discovered after a thorough search of each building. However, questioning of the Japanese officials brought out that lack of sufficient food was the principal complaint of the prisoners. Parenthesis include #19).

14. Leads to Be Developed.

In as much as a complete list of the Japanese personnel at the camp was obtained, it is felt that those persons should be interrogated in connection with the statements of the prisoners who were liberated, in an effort to ascertain more definitely the treatment accorded the prisoners.

/S/ A M.D. Angelo
A M.D. Angelo, Captain CE.
Investigating Officer,
legal Secretary GHQ, SCAP.

/S/ William E. H. Kaulsey,
William E. H. Kaulsey, 2ndLt. Infantry
Investigating officer, that.
Legal Secretary, GHQ, SCAP

Exhibit A
List of Enclosures:
Inclusion #1 – blueprint of Nagoya Sub Camp number two at Narumi. [missing]
Inclusion #2 – photograph of barracks.
Inclusion #3 – city plan of Nagoya compiled by the Lake Survey Branch, Army map service, Detroit, Michigan, January 1945. [missing]
Inclusion #4 – Staff list of Japanese Personnel
inclusion #5 – Roster of Prisoners of War [missing]
Inclusion #6 –List of Guards.
Inclusion #7 – Red Cross Distribution [missing]
Inclusion #8 – Comparative table of distribution of food of Japanese army personnel. [missing]
Inclusion #9 – photograph– dispensary
inclusion #10 – photograph– Ward
inclusion #11 - photograph – hospital latrine
inclusion #12 – photograph – latrine.
Inclusion #13 – photograph – watch stand
Inclusion #14 – photograph – Bath
inclusion #15 – photograph – kitchen
inclusion #16 – photograph– mess tables
inclusion #17 – photograph –air raid shelter entrance (inside).
Inclusion #18 – photograph – air raid shelter entrance (outside).
Inclusion #19 – photograph – solitary confinement room