The Oryoku Maru Tragedy

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Conditions for the POWs were beyond appalling. They were crammed into three unlit, unventilated cargo holds deep within the ship. Around 600 men were forced into the first hold, 200 in the second, and 800 in the third. There was no light, no air flow, minimal food and water, and no medical supplies. The heat and stench were unbearable. Many men went mad from dehydration and claustrophobia. Some were trampled or crushed. By morning, at least 50 had died.

In the early hours of 14 December, Oryoku Maru set sail for Takao (modern-day Kaohsiung, Taiwan), accompanied by a destroyer and a sub-chaser. But by 8:00 am, only a few hours into the journey, the ship was attacked by aircraft from the USS Hornet, part of Task Force 38. The vessel was struck by six rockets and a 250 kg bomb, which sparked a fire and caused significant flooding. The following day, the ship, now listing and in critical condition, reached the waters off Olongapo Point.

Japanese personnel began evacuating women and children to shore around 3:00 am on 15 December. Most had disembarked safely by 6:30 am. Attempts were then made to disembark the remaining passengers and POWs, but just before 8:00 am, the American aircraft returned, unleashing a second wave of bombs and machine-gun fire. Prisoners frantically signalled with makeshift flags and white sheets shaped into the letters "P" and "W" in hopes of halting the assault. Eventually, one of the planes appeared to acknowledge the signals and broke off the attack, with other aircraft shifting their focus inland. The last survivors reached the shore by late afternoon.

Approximately 1,300 POWs were rounded up and held within a tennis court at a Japanese naval base. On 19 December, Japanese trucks arrived with guards, meagre medical supplies, and rations. The prisoners were informed they would remain in Olongapo temporarily. A handful of men died from their injuries and were buried nearby.

On 20 December, the POWs were transferred by truck to South San Fernando, where they were held in a cinema and local jail. During this time, 15 of the most gravely ill prisoners were selected for medical evacuation to Manila. They were never seen again, later confirmed to have been executed on the outskirts of the city.

On Christmas Eve, around 1,300 POWs were loaded into roughly fifteen boxcars at the South San Fernando railway station. The journey to North San Fernando (La Union) was slow and perilous. At each air raid warning, the train was forced to stop and the men were hastily evacuated. By 4:00 am on 25 December, they reached their destination and were held in a nearby school. Soon after, the prisoners were gathered at the docks under the supervision of the Akatsuki Butai, a Japanese naval transport group. Initially scheduled to board the Brazil Maru, a last-minute decision was made to board them instead onto the Enoura Maru.

Around 3:00 am on 27 December, the prisoners began boarding the Enoura Maru. By 6:30 am, approximately 700 were on board when Japanese officers ordered the remaining POWs to be split—1,040 were to go on the Enoura Maru and 240 on the Brazil Maru. Once the boarding was complete, the convoy, now including tankers and escorted by a destroyer and three sub-chasers, immediately departed to avoid Allied air raids. Despite the threat of submarine attacks, the ships arrived off the coast of Takao on 31 December. During the journey, twenty prisoners died on the Enoura Maru and five on the Brazil Maru. The destroyer Kuretake, part of the convoy, was later sunk by the American submarine USS Razorback.

At Takao, the suffering did not end. With an Allied invasion of Taiwan considered imminent, no aid was offered to the POWs. On 6 January 1945, all remaining prisoners were moved to the Enoura Maru. Two days later, a small group of survivors from other sunken ships—34 Dutch and two British POWs—were transferred to a prison camp in Taiwan.

The story of the Oryoku Maru is one of immense suffering, courage, and endurance. Though often overshadowed by the more well-known events of the European theatre, the horrors faced by Far East POWs deserve recognition. The men who perished aboard these so-called "hell ships" should never be forgotten, and their sacrifice must remain a solemn reminder of the human cost of war.