| Rokuroshi Time Line |
|
20 May 1945: Thirty
enlisted men arrive from Tsumori and Umeda camps in Osaka. List of
the 30 men 23 Jun 1945: Zentsuji- 335 Officers and enlisted men depart Zentsuji 13:45 hrs, via Okayama (in air raid shelter overnight) to Fukiui late at night, travel by a "wild streetcar at high speed" to Rokuroshi. 9 KM walk to camp [Marks, Giles, Morgan, Todd] Special Note: Remaining behind at Zentsuji were the enlisted men, non-USA officers and Civilans, e.g, Pearson (actual USNR) and 2 American Warrant Officers [Marks, p 180] 25 Jun 1945: Zentsuji- remaining Allied officers leave camp, Army Major and two Warrant Officers remain. Only 109 POWs remain at Zentsuji [Brown, p 124] Saar and Havenor go to Rokuroshi. 03 July 1945: Ray E. VanHorn, Corp., USMC dies [Killed, no camp location or cause stated(Chikko),Giles, p 198] 25 July 1945: Rokuroshi- Officers etc arrive at 3:00 A.M., 335 men (4 later sent out and 2 (Travis Smith and Dillard) tried to escape, caught and sent to Osaka - 339 at liberation) [Marks, Unruh affidavit- conflicts with actual roster count] NOTE: NO MENTION WAS MADE BY ANY OF THE OFFICERS IN THEIR BOOKS REGARDING THE IDENTITY OF THE ENLISTED MEN WHO HAD ARRIVED EARLIER [see List of the 30 men now included- list found in Capt Todd's diary] 25 Jul 1945: Kawasaki 2B POW Camp- Lt JG Frank J Carney killed in B-29 raid. [per letter of namesake and nephew, 01 Oct 2001]- Also Snater, Staunch and Small killed 04 Aug 1945: Rokuroshi- 2nd Lt (Bataan) James Irie Malette, dies [Marks] 05 Aug 1945: Rokuroshi- Second Lieutenants Samuel H. Dillard and Travis J. Smith transferred to Osaka HQ Camp for escape attempt. [Unruh deposition] 17 Aug 1945: Rokuroshi- Informed work details not required. NOT informed of Atom Bombs or that war has ended. [Marks, Morgan] 18 Aug 1945: Rokuroshi- Guards disappear [Marks Memoir] 22 Aug 1945: Rokuroshi- informed war has ended, Japanese commander surrenders sword to Col. Unruh 15:30 hrs [Unruh, Marks] 24 Aug 1945: Rokuroshi- Col. Unruh informs men was is over. [G. Small Diary] 25 Aug 1945: Occupation Troops arrive in Japan 29 Aug 1945: Zentsuji- Lineberry, Unruh, Gus Johnson [may not have returned] and John "Jack" Ryder depart for Kyoto 02 Sep 1945: Japanese sign surrender document aboard USS Missouri 02 Sep 1945: Zentsuji - Lineberry and others return with truckload of food and supplies obtained from POWs at Tsurugu 02 Sep 1945: Five B-29's begin food drops at Rokuroshi [Unruh] Japanese sign surrender document [numerous mentions] 05 Sep 1945: Rokuroshi- Star, Apra, Fisher, Morgan, Todd, Flournoy and Marks go to Ono via Matsumara. Meet up with Gordon, Ragusen, Whitman, Savage and Dalton [Marks Memoir] 07 Sep 1945: Rokuroshi- Recovery teams arrive [Marks, Unruh] 08 Sep 1945: Rokuroshi- POWs depart [Marks, Unruh] 10 Sep 1945: Rokuroshi and Zentsuji men's train arrive Yokohama [Marks Memoir] 25 Sep 1945: Marks arrives at Hamilton Field, north of San Francisco- home at last. [Marks Memoir] |