Initial DPAA Underwater Investigation of the WWII Japanese Transport Vessel, Oryoku Maru

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "A Decade of DPAA: Challenges and Opportunities to the Accounting Mission", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

One of the darkest, and less known tragedies in American history is the 15 December 1944 attack and sinking of Oryoku Maru. The Japanese passenger liner, turned military auxiliary transport ship, was used during the Japanese evacuation of the Philippines in World War II to relocate 1,619 U.S. and Allied Prisoners-of-War (POWs). The POWs, who had previously endured a debilitating existence in prison camps, were transported in the overcrowded holds of the ship with the intended destination of forced labor in mainland Japan. The circumstances of the loss and entombing of approximately 286 of our fallen has been further complicated by post-depositional, anthropogenic events, to include demolition and destructive salvage, resulting in a unique set of challenges presented to the DPAA mission. This presentation will discuss the initial underwater investigation of Oryoku Maru and the specific challenges that DPAA will face during future operations at the site.  

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• A Decade of DPAA: Challenges and Opportunities to the Accounting Mission   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow