*Ø* Blogmanac October 30, 1945 | Australian-American shameful secret
Cover-up: more than 800 died when USA sank POW ship
The only thing more remarkable than the saga of the ‘Montevideo Maru’ is that so few Australians know anything about it.
Mark Simkin, 7.30 Report, ‘Silence broken on Australia's worst maritime disaster’
Only on October 30, 1945 did Australian relatives of victims of the Montevideo Maru disaster of July 1, 1942, began receiving news of the tragedy from the Australian government – more than three years after their loved ones had been sent to the bottom of the ocean by an American submarine’s torpedoes.
July 1, 1942 The sinking of the Montevideo Maru with the loss of approximately 1,053 mainly Australian lives. About 610 Australian soldiers and 130 civilians perished when American submarine, USS Sturgeon, commanded by Lieutenant Commander WL Wright, mistakenly opened its torpedoes on the 7,267-ton transport Montevideo Maru. The Japanese ship, carrying hundreds of Australian POWs, was sailing from Philippine waters off Cape Bojidoru, Luzon, westwards towards the South China Sea. Although the sinking had been reported in Japanese newspapers, the American and Australian governments did not inform Australian loved ones anxiously wondering about the fate of the hundreds of victims until October 30, 1945 – more than three years later.
Almost twice as many Australians lost their lives in that one night as did in the ten years of the Vietnam War, and some 71 Japanese crewmen and naval guards also perished in the tragedy. However, even today, the exact number of lives lost, and the names of the victims, are not known, and the event is still shaded in mystery. Peter Stone, in his book Hostages to Freedom, writes that “a confirmed list of all Australians who died on the Montevideo Maru is not available although several reports indicate that the ship's complement consisted of 845 prisoner of war servicemen, 208 civilian prisoners of war, 71 Japanese crew and 62 naval guards”.
However, the Japanese Navy Department had reported the sinking to the ship’s owners only 20 days after the tragedy, and on January 6, 1943 to the Prisoner of War Information Bureau in Japan with a “complete nominal roll of 848 POWs and 208 civilians who were on board and presumed lost”.
Sadly, most Australians and Americans are still unaware of the tragedy that occurred on the night of July 1, 1945.
See: The sinking of the Montevideo Maru, 1 July 1942
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Cover-up: more than 800 died when USA sank POW ship
The only thing more remarkable than the saga of the ‘Montevideo Maru’ is that so few Australians know anything about it.
Mark Simkin, 7.30 Report, ‘Silence broken on Australia's worst maritime disaster’
Only on October 30, 1945 did Australian relatives of victims of the Montevideo Maru disaster of July 1, 1942, began receiving news of the tragedy from the Australian government – more than three years after their loved ones had been sent to the bottom of the ocean by an American submarine’s torpedoes.
July 1, 1942 The sinking of the Montevideo Maru with the loss of approximately 1,053 mainly Australian lives. About 610 Australian soldiers and 130 civilians perished when American submarine, USS Sturgeon, commanded by Lieutenant Commander WL Wright, mistakenly opened its torpedoes on the 7,267-ton transport Montevideo Maru. The Japanese ship, carrying hundreds of Australian POWs, was sailing from Philippine waters off Cape Bojidoru, Luzon, westwards towards the South China Sea. Although the sinking had been reported in Japanese newspapers, the American and Australian governments did not inform Australian loved ones anxiously wondering about the fate of the hundreds of victims until October 30, 1945 – more than three years later.
Almost twice as many Australians lost their lives in that one night as did in the ten years of the Vietnam War, and some 71 Japanese crewmen and naval guards also perished in the tragedy. However, even today, the exact number of lives lost, and the names of the victims, are not known, and the event is still shaded in mystery. Peter Stone, in his book Hostages to Freedom, writes that “a confirmed list of all Australians who died on the Montevideo Maru is not available although several reports indicate that the ship's complement consisted of 845 prisoner of war servicemen, 208 civilian prisoners of war, 71 Japanese crew and 62 naval guards”.
However, the Japanese Navy Department had reported the sinking to the ship’s owners only 20 days after the tragedy, and on January 6, 1943 to the Prisoner of War Information Bureau in Japan with a “complete nominal roll of 848 POWs and 208 civilians who were on board and presumed lost”.
Sadly, most Australians and Americans are still unaware of the tragedy that occurred on the night of July 1, 1945.
See: The sinking of the Montevideo Maru, 1 July 1942
Pip Wilson's articles are available for your publication, on application. Further details
Receive similar items free each day with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine. Send a blank email
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