These Merchant Mariners and US Navy personnel (mostly Naval Reserves) were taken as POWs as their ships were sunk by various means. Most were handed over to the Japanese at Singapore but a few were left by their original captors on Java.
The ships involved were the SS Sawolka (some of whose crew worked the TBR at Hintok), the SS Amrican Leader, the SS Humphrey and the SS Hovey. Many of these men survived the sinking of their vessel only to die as POWs. The members of the American Leader crew fared the worst as POWs.
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | ALBERT SIDNEY MULLER | Cook | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | BEHRENDT DONALD PAUL | Yeoman3c | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | BOWENS GEORGE H | Messman | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | DELANEY FRANCIS J | ABsea | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | DENZIER HERMAN R (Denzler) | oiler | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | DICKINGER CHARLES JR | ABsea | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | DUFFY GEORGE William | 3rd OFF | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | GORSKI STANLEY E | Bosun | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | GROVER WILLIAM A | oiler | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | MLODZIK ALVIN PAUL | SM2c | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | MOGENSEN CARL JOHANAS | SM2c | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | PATOCKA FRANK J | ABsea | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | PEKICH STEVE | seaman | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | POTOCNY FERDINAND J | Utility | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | SHERSHUN ALEXANDER | Jr 3rd Off | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | SUTHERLAND NEVILLE | Ch Cook | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | WILLIAMS LEWIS P (Louis P?) | oiler | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-dcd | YOUNG CHARLES Joseph | Jr Eng | en route (Tamahoko) |
| AMER LDR | AL-Jp-surv | D’AMBROSE ERNEST William | wiper | Kyushu |
| AMER LDR | AL-Jp-surv | HIZA FRANK | ABsea | Kyushu |
| AMER LDR | AL-Jp-surv | KAMINS ERIC Otto | 3rd Engineer | Kyushu |
| AMER LDR | AL-Jp-surv | MARCINKUS ANTHONY Joseph | wiper | Kyushu |
| AMER LDR | AL-Jp-surv | PRIDE KENNETH Jerry | ABsea | Kyushu |
| AMER LDR | AL-Muk | PEDERSEN HAAKON Andrew | CAPT | Mukden Manchuria |
| AMER LDR | AL-Sg | COHEN JOSEPH | Radio Officer | Changi |
| AMER LDR | AL-Sg | Moss Arthur R | Wiper | Changi |
| AMER LDR | AL-Sg | TROTTA PASQUALE Aloysius | Messman | Changi |
| AMER LDR | AL-Sumatra | HICKEY BERNARD Joseph | Ch Off | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-Sumatra | KALLOCH CARL H “Blackie” | seaman | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-Sumatra | PAREJKO EUGENE JOHN | SM2c | Pakan Baroe |
| AMER LDR | AL-Sumatra | PARIS PATRICK | 1st Eng | Pakan Baroe |
| Hovey-Jv | MM-Japan | MARGETKO WILLIAM Valentine | ABsea | Fukuoka |
| Hovey-Jv | MM-Sg | SIMMS FRED B “Frank” | Eng Off | Changi |
| Hovey-Jv | MM-Sg | THORSEN HANS | CAPT | Changi |
| Hovey-Jv | MM-Sg | TURNER ROBERT Watson | 2nd OFF | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-dcd | HOSEY WILLIAM Ward | civ | Pakan Baroe |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | BASTON THOMAS JOSEPH | seaman | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | COLLINS OMAR Floyd | WIPER | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | DAVIDSON EDWARD Moore | SEAMAN | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | FRITZ ERNEST | fireman | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | GARLAND GERALD Hazleton | PO | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | HENDERSON VINSON Gunter | QM | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | KAVANAGH FRANK Joseph | seaman | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | McARTHUR EDWARD Francis | fireman | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | McGADDES CHARLES Elvida | QM | Changi |
| Humph-Sg | MM-Sg | MONCRIEFF CHRISTOPHER McKinley | seaman | Changi |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Atkociunas, Joseph John | Able Seaman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Becker, Erich (H?) | Messman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Bryson, Walter Alan | Able Seaman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Buckley, Irwin Francis | Able Seaman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Cebollero, Charles “Carlos” Humberto | Ordinary Seaman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Colmyer, William Theodore | Carpenter | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Coppenrath, Alfred Francois “Mano” | 2nd Engineer | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Cruickshank, Richard Paul | Messman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Cudd, Lewis Edward | 2nd Cook | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Dickman (Dreckman), Otto H | Wiper | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Evart, Alfred | Deck Maintenance | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Haglund, Elmer Walfid | Deck Maintenance | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Henderson, George G | Bosun | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Knudsen, John Fallensen | Able Seaman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Nieves, Ricardo Moreno | Wiper | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Nilsson, Henry Edvin Alexander | Messman | [not recorded] |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Pisarczyk, Andrew | Oiler | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Ruiz, Alfonso Castillo | Oiler | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Saar, Elmar | Chief Mate | Rokuroshi |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Sechak, Paul | Able Seaman | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Jp | Wardell, Clarence Dudley | Utility | Hakodate |
| SW-MM | OTH-Sw-Sg | Mackney, John N | Steward | Changi |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | AGRO, Harry Charles | Seaman 2nd Class | Hakodate |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | ALBERTS, Joseph Edward | Seaman 2nd Class | Fukuoka |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | ANDERSON, Harvey Turie | Seaman 1st Class | Hakodate |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | BABCOCK, Benjamin Wayne | Seaman 1st Class | Hakodate |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | BIAGINI, Joseph John | Seaman 2nd Class | Hakodate |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | BURGER, Jr, James Spence | Seaman 1st Class | Hakodate |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | GARGANO, Anthony Michael “Tony” | Seaman 1st Class | Hakodate |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | HARTMAN, Frank William | Seaman 2nd Class | Hakodate |
| SW-USN | OTH-Sw-Jp | ZANDER, William Otto | Seaman 2nd Class | Hakodate |
Apparently, post-war, there was a heated political battle to get these men the recognition (and compensation) they deserved. Their ordeals were no less ardous than the ‘official’ US POWs. It is also of note that a few of these men were Afro-Americans constituting a tiny minority of the Pacific Theater POWs. [see Section 3.11 for more of their story]
In the following segment, the Captain of the AMERICAN LEADER details his experience as a POW as well as the sinking of his vessel: [1]
[1] Once again I am indebted to Marianne LeButt for locating the above document