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Old Salt
Posts: 489
Location: San Freakcisco CA area | Subject: PAMPANITO Sinking Victim Visits Sunday 09/14
Sorry for the short notice - we have been working to confirm this on a minute-by-minute basis.
TO ALL SUBVETS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO AREA:
Through USS PAMPANITO volunteer Al McDonald's extensive communications with Alistair Urquart over many months, a visit to USS PAMPANITO on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 has finally been arranged.
Curator Diane Cooper has confirmed 5:00PM for a brief wreath ceremony commemorating Allied POWs lost during the sinking of two Japanese transports carrying them from enslavement constructing the Burma-Thailand railroad to perform more slave labor in the Japanese homeland.
That infamous railroad cost over 22,000 Allied POW lives during its construction, principally due to brutal treatment and starvation at the hands of their captors. Finally, an ungodly toll occurred through inevitable disease and sickness that followed prolonged conditions of inhumane brutality and starvation.
The Hollywood movie The Bridge on the River Kwai was loosely based upon one facet of the construction of that infamous railroad. Despite some of the brutally desperate scenes in that movie, the real life ordeal suffered by those Allied POWs was thousands of times more cruel and inhumane.
Following the railroad work, these same POWs were then moved by land to perform slave labor at the Singapore docks from March until September, 1944 when the Japanese finally mustered enough ships to transport the surviving POWs to the Empire homeland.
A convoy was assembled and sailed on September 6, 1944. They were joined at sea by more Japanese transports and escorts that had sailed from Manila and had been scattered by US submarine attacks elsewhere some days earlier.
In all, there were now 12 cargo ships and 5 warship escorts proceeding northward off the coast of China about 200 miles from Hainan, bound for Tokyo Bay. On September 12th, USS SEALION and USS PAMPANITO sighted the convoy and set up for attacks.
The Japanese typically gave some notice whenever moving Allied POWs by sea, thereby creating a safe haven from Allied attack. For some still unknown reason, warning was not given regarding this particular convoy's precious human cargo.
COMSUBPAC had alerted US submarines in the area of the convoy based upon intercepted Japanese messages that the US could break - a top secret that the Japanese learned of only years after the war ended. These messages gave absolutely no hint of the precious human cargo - only of exceedingly valuable raw materials destined for the munitions factories in Japan.
Thus, over the next four days from September 12th 1944 on, the convoy was set upon by no less than six US submarines and attacked relentlessly until four cargo ships and two escorts were confirmed sunk. Contemporary reports included additional reports of sinking one and damage to two more cargo ships and one more escort sunk, but postwar records analysis could not confirm these additional hits from US torpedoes. The surviving enemy ships finally managed to dash to safety in the Strait of Hainan after a aggressive running battle pressed by US submarines to the very shoals of the Strait.
On September 12, 1944, USS PAMPANITO sank Kachidoki Maru, the transport in which Alistair was embarked. USS SEALION, another member of the wolfpack, sank another transport in the convoy, Rakuyo Maru, in their coordinated attack.
Unbeknownst to the two submarines, there were some 2,300 Allied POWs in the cramped holds of these two targets that they had just dispatched to the bottom of the South China Sea.
According to official records, over 2,000 Allied lives were lost in these two sinkings. Other Japanese ships in the vicinity reportedly began rescuing Japanese personnel and holding off Allied survivors at gun and bayonet point, abandoning them to die as they clung to bits of floating wreckage in the blistering sun of the South China Sea.
Some days later, Japanese fishing and small coastal boats revisited the area and rescued a few of the remaining Allied POWs who were, by this time, in desperate physical condition. In addition, a total of 159 Allied POWs were rescued by four US submarines, including 73 by USS PAMPANITO. Of these 159 men, nine died before reaching port.
Alistair was one of those Allied POWs who was abandoned at sea to die but later rescued by a Japanese boat, transported to Japan, and put to work at slave labor for the duration of the war. He visits USS PAMPANITO all the way from his home in Scotland on Sunday, 64 years and one day* after his ship was sunk by USS PAMPANITO. [* note - International Date Line]
During a brief ceremony at 5:00 PM, Alistair will toss a memorial wreath into the Bay in remembrance of his fellow POWs.
Edited by SOB490 2008-09-14 2:51 AM
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2357
| Subject: RE: PAMPANITO Sinking Victim Visits Sunday 09/14
SOB, I was honoured to have met the crew of the PAMPANITO way back in 1985 at their 40th Anniversary.
I was also lucky to have met Mr Frank Farmer, from Melbourne, Australia, one of the Allied POW's who was rescued by the PAMPANITO back in 1944.
A funny story in regards to that day back in 1985 if I may....
I was invited to the ceremony by the crew after meeting some of them in the FWD Torpedo Room as they were being interviewed. I was quietly listening to their story when the interviewer turned around and said into the microphone, "we have a young man listening, what is your interest in submarines"?, I replied with, "I am an Australian Submariner from HMAS ONSLOW"!
The guys warmly welcomed me and next thing I know we are 'topside' having a beer......and then the invite to the ceremony.
So there I was, watching at the sidelines, when the MC stated, "we have a special guest of honor from Australia"
"wow" I am thinking to myself, "I'm a special guest of honour, how amazing"!
" and I would like to welcome him and invite him to the podium....."
"what the...." I am thinking, "what am I going to say"????????
Next thing I see is this 'old man' walk up to the podium whilst everyone applauds him!
Mr Frank Farmer from Melbourne, Australia.....................THE Special Guest of Honor from Australia!!!
I still laugh at how embarrassing that could have been for me! 
The crew were fantastic, they invited me to a tour of Alcatraz with them, and the Cocktail Party that night after the ceremony.
One of many wonderful experiences I have encountered when travelling the USA over the years.
Cheers
Blue *_*
PS. Frank Farmer the 'old guy' in the middle with grey hair ( hey, I was 22 so he was 'old' ) http://news.webshots.com/photo/1029448558029391582uAbogiZWgL
Edited by Blue from West Oz 2008-09-14 12:39 AM
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2357
| Subject: a photo of 3 DBF's....1985
USS PAMPANITO
HMAS ONSLOW
USS BLUEBACK
August 1985
Blue *_*
http://news.webshots.com/photo/1022277429029391582zuCVLGKwyf
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Mess cooking
Posts: 42
Location: Fremont Ca | Subject: RE: PAMPANITO Sinking Victim Visits Sunday 09/14
I'll be there |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1606
| Subject: RE: a photo of 3 DBF's....1985
Blue, Who's that young kid in the photos?
Edited by Gil 2008-09-14 12:10 PM
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Master and Commander
Posts: 2357
| Subject: RE: a photo of 3 DBF's....1985
I assume you are asking of me....sheesh, 23 years ago.
Half a lifetime ago, literally. Whilst these days life is good, back then was something else that is for sure!
Kathy arrives in Sydney on the 7th of Nov and I will meet her there. We will pop down to Darling Harbour to check out HMAS ONSLOW, the sub in the photo and the one that brought us together back in '85.
Blue *_*
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1606
| Subject: RE: PAMPANITO Sinking Victim Visits Sunday 09/14
Blue, In the summer of '68 I had the pleasure of going aboard a visiting Australian submarine at Pearl. I really enjoyed it, unfortunately the Pickerel and myself made the mistake of thinking we could out drink them. We got a kick out of the rum container in the ftr, if I remember it was between the tubes. I was told each sailor got a daily rum ration, but they would auction off saved up rum rations and the winner could go on a bender - the winner was excluded from standing watch. That night we took them to the old sub bar on the base. I didn't pass out, but the last thing I remembered as we were closing the bar was a comment they made about moving the party on to Honolulu. All I wanted was to move the party to my rack in the barracks. |
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PAMPANITO Sinking Victim Visits Sunday 09/14
