WWII POW ID Tag from Japanese Camp Hanawa

[KASTAUFFER]

1st original of one of these I have found for my POW collection.

 

It is an original ID patch from the Hanawa (Sendai #6) POW camp in Japan worn by an American on his uniform while in the camp. He was POW # 347 at Hanawa (confirmed from multiple sources) and his name is written in Japanese on the front.

 

I have also included some original reunion ribbons from the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, including one from the very first reunion in 1946 . 

He served with the  27th BG (L) and later with the provisional Air Corps infantry on Bataan. 

 

There’s quite a bit more with this group, but these were my favorite pieces .

[Wailuna]

 

Quote

Here's his Find a Grave memorial # 180168104

 

[danimal03]

Neat grouping!

[HMahaffeyges]

My grandfather was a POW in this camp, and so was my grandmother’s uncle JD Merritt (this was his number 462). I don’t know my grandfather’s number unfortunately. I grew up with stories about the Japanese and his time in the war, at least that he would tell me. My grandfather made a deal with JD that he would get him coffee and creamer if he would introduce him to the beautiful niece he had a picture of in his wallet. JD was nearly the same age as his niece and she was an only child back in Michigan, my grandfather was from Texas. If not for them meeting in this Japanese prison camp I wouldn’t be here writing this. I remember the story my grandfather told me about a Jewish man in the camp and the prisoners all got a laugh out of it, his number was 55. I’ll let you look that up in Japanese and you’ll get a laugh as well. JD wrote a book about his time on the hell ship and his time in prison camp and he tells the story of my grandfather and how he made the call with him when they got back home to the states to

fulfill his end of the agreement and introduce him to my grandmother Yetive. Attached is the picture of my grandmother and her proud uncle JD. All of them are no longer with us, but I still have his book and I still tell the stories my grandfather told me. It was quite interesting to find this post and learn about another man who my grandfather and or JD might possibly have actually know.  

[HMahaffeyges]

[KASTAUFFER]

Awesome! Joe D . Merritt was also in Hanawa and it confirmed his POW # was 642 . 

 

The 2 tags are almost identical.