WILLIAM E. BOWEN
72 Forest Village Pl.
Cordova, TN 38018
PHONE 901-754-2754


May 14, 2001

    The Arisan Maru data on this disk was compiled and edited from a number of sources.   The primary source was the hand written list prepared by US prisoners acting as clerks for the Japanese and is available from the National Achieves.   Additional lists were obtained from various other sources.   One list carried the designation: List No. J.U.75 501-1-1 and No. J.U. 75 (Refers to ST/8.   The later two lists are similar but vary in format indicating that they were typed at different times.

    Additional information regarding home towns and personal notes were obtained from returning Veterans and the National Battle Monuments Commission data base.   Even though the list I have prepared has been cross checked with the noted sources there are still mistakes and omissions due to the lack of an accurate record of the prisoner roster for the Arisan Maru.

    I think most persons will agree that the prisoner count on-board the Arisan Maru will never be accurately established.   The handwritten list contains 1764 names and I have added eleven names indicated by testimony given in Washington (Sec 293 file of Gilbert R. Abell, 0-890111) by Arisan survivors.   One J.U. 75 list fixes the count at 1778 and the other at 1751.   Lastly, one survivor claims that he overheard a count of over 1800 during boarding.

    There is some confusion regarding the number of survivors.   The documented number is eight or nine depending on whether PFC Charles W. Hughes is considered a survivor.   He died within the first two weeks of being picked up by a Japanese ship after the sinking.   He succumbed to exposure and poor treatment.   Five men miraculously sailed to China and were taken to Allied forces and returned to the USA in December 1944.   Three held out on rafts until being picked up by Japanese Destroyers and remained prisoners until liberation.   The accounts of the survivors are available from testimony in the National Archives.

    I encourage comments regarding corrections or additions to my list and am always available to answer questions to help others in their search for information about the men of the Arisan Maru.   I am glad to share my contacts and records.

    Bill Bowen
    Internet address:
    wbowen1968@verizon.net