Tokyo-04B-Naoetsu
Additional roster information

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Following email received by Roger Mansell from John Lewis on 8 Dec 2005.
Regarding Osaka and Naoetsu roster for Americans.

A number of North China Marines were at Naoetsu at the end.
They originally were sent to Osaka in August 43. From the time the arrived in 43 to being sent to Naoetsu they were not moved to any other camp (as told to me by Clark and Whipple). Two of the group, Richard Rider and Fernando Rodriquez died while at Osaka. Rider from bombing raid 14 Mar 44, Rodriquez 5 Nov 44-cause listed as pulmonary TB. The info on Rider and Rodriquez comes from Japanese records posted by the POW Research Network Japan.
Some of the NCM have personally told me of being present at the deaths of Rider and Rodriquez. That means they were in that camp at that time. The Japanese records have the deaths occurring at Osaka No 13 Branch Camp Tsumori.

On that roster are also Wake Marines CE Hotchkiss and JS Kroptavich. Their names appear on your American roster at Naoetsu. The following NCM are said to have been at Naoetsu (Ken Clark, Bernard Fitzgerald, and John Whipple gave me these names-they say there were maybe 50 Americans there):
William J Brigham
Ken R Clark
Willima J Dees
Bernard J Fitzgerald
Robert A Lareau
Eric Stromstad
John W Whipple
John C Wrathall
and maybe Mike Serra
only Clark, Serra, Stromstad, and Wrathall appear on the Osaka roster.

Wake Marines Ken Marvin, Reroy Schneider, and Jack Skaggs gave me the following Wake names as being at Naoetsu:
James Bastien, Fred Beese, Joseph Bentley, Edward Bogdonovich, Joseph Borne, William Buckie, John Dale, Ken Marvin, Fenton Quinn, Leroy Schneider, Jack Skaggs, Robert Shores, and Robert Winslow.
Buckie appears on the Holmes furnished Osaka roster.

On your American roster at Naoetsu is the name J O Young, Wake civilian. In his writings he mentions the following names as being at Naoetsu: Frank Hole, George Acorda, Jim Sweiberg, Norman Swanson, Forrest Read, Robert Crawford, E J Bone.
Crawford returned to Naoetsu in 1949 to thank Japanese medic Yasuzo Takeda for his help for the POWs.
Sweiberg and Swanson appear on the Holmes roster.

All of the North China and Wake Marines were sent there in the spring of 45 after the fire bombings.
The men from Osaka or Tsumori 13 were transferred out of there on 16 May 45.
Info on the POW Research Network lists the following for Naoetsu:
338 Americans
231 Australian
90 British
39 Dutch
at the end of the war.

I also have new info on the Americans at Sendai # 11.
The commander of the NCM, Col Ashurst, reported to the War Dept. His notes list the following for POW numbers when Kiangwan was closed and all sent on their way to Japan in May 1945.
Group : 436 Americans, all military including 29 Merchant Marine officers, 64 British military including 25 Merchantile Marine Officers for a total 500
Group B: 223 American Merchant Marine crew and civilians, 5 Norwegian, 72 Italian for a total of 300
Group C:
(as listed exactly in his notes)
Americans
Officer (MC) USN (1-Lt(jg)
Enlisted (MC) USN - 7
Merchan Marine Crew and civilians (white) 100
civilians (Oriental) 88

The North China Marines have always said Dr Foley and Herman Davis were sent to a camp together when they were all transferred to Japan in July 1945. The Gibbs report for Sendai 11 lists Foley as the American commander of Sendai. Ashurst says there were 7 Navy medical corps enlsited men in the group.
A month ago NCM Art Schraeder [Schrader] (a Pharmacist mate) told me he was at Sendai. My last note asked for info on some pharmacist mates, saying he may be the only one who knows the last camp they were in. He returned my note with four camps listed on the back (I had asked him where he was) - Woosung, Kiangwan, Fengtai, Sendai.

Ashurst said 7 Navy enlisted were in group C, obviously Foley's group. There are five other pharmacist mates I could not find listed on Hokkaido rosters. They are Loy Black, William Hunt, Earl Johnson, William Riley, and John Ryan. I now list them as being at Sendai 11. With the five of them plus Davis and Schraeder that makes the 7 Navy medical corps enlisted Ashurst mentions.

John Powers