CAPTAIN MOORE originally wrote this article for the American Merchant Marine Veterans Newsletter where it was first published and has given us permission to reprint it. Let me caution you that this is a very graphic article and if the harsh realities of war will bother you, I suggest that you do not read this piece. The piece was originally titled "A Japanese Atrocity on the High Seas."

This is the true story of one of the most horrible atrocities committed by the Japanese during W W II. Some people are aware of it, most are not. You will never read about this in the public media today.

The SS JEAN NICOLET, a Liberty Ship built in Portland, Oregon, in October 1943, was operated for the War Shipping Administration by the Oliver J. Olson Company of San Francisco & was under the command of Captain David Martin Nilsson of Oakland, California. On board was a compliment of 100 men consisting of 41 Merchant crew, 28 Naval Armed Guard, & 31 passengers. The passenger list was made up of 6 US Army Officers, 12 US Army enlisted men, 8 Navy technicians, 4 civilians & 1 US Army Medical Corpsman.

On July 2, 1944 the SS JEAN NICOLET was steaming alone in the Indian Ocean loaded with a cargo of war materials for the China/Burma/India Theater of war. Sailing from San Pedro on May 12th, the ship had stopped at Fremantle, Australia for bunkers, stores and to discharge some cargo. Departing from Fremantle on June 21st, she was bound for Colombo, Ceylon, where she was to stop for orders prior to proceeding to Calcutta. The cargo consisted of heavy machinery, trucks, steel plate, landing barges, steel mooring pontoons and other general cargo.

At 1907 ship's time, on this date, she was located in position 3.28 South 74.30 West or about 700 miles south of Ceylon. At this time, she was struck by two torpedoes fired from the Japanese submarine I-8. The first hit between #2 and #3 holds on the starboard side and the second at #4 hold on the same side. A few minutes later the Master ordered abandon ship as he feared the ship would capsize due to the heavy starboard list. All hands abandoned ship safely in lifeboats and rafts. Before abandoning his post, Augustus Tilden, the Radio Operator, sent out a radio message that the ship had been torpedoed in the above position. The message was acknowledged by Calcutta and Ceylon. This radio message was responsible for saving the lives of 32 men.

Soon after the ship was abandoned, the I-8 surfaced. As it was dark the I-8 used a powerful searchlight to locate the boats and rafts. The survivors were threatened with machine guns and ordered to come alongside by a Japanese, speaking perfect English. Someone rat slipped over the side into the water to hide but were seen by the Japanese and ordered to get back on the raft. Then they were ordered to swim to the sub. Five others, who were on the side away from the sub, were not discovered. These five were the only ones who did not board the sub. These consisted of 4 of the Naval Armed Guard and one Army enlisted man. They were among the 23 survivors.

One of the men forced to swim to the sub was William M. Musser, a 17 year old Messman from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, making his first trip to sea. each man who lived to tell this tale has a different story about what happened to him, but basically it was this. After boarding the sub, he was escorted towards the bow and as he walked forward, one of the Japanese swung him around and slugged him over the head with a piece of steel pipe. As Musser staggered from the blow, the Japanese giggled, took out his pistol and shot Musser in the head and then kicked his body over the side.

Another crew member, Richard L. Kean, a 19 year old Ordinary Seaman from Portland, Oregon was brutally murdered. As he climbed out of a lifeboat to the sub's deck, he was searched, had his life jacket removed, and then his arms were bound behind his back. The Japanese who was leading him forward suddenly turned with a bayonet in his hand and plunged it into the young seaman's stomach. As Kean doubled over with pain, the Japanese struck him in the head with a rifle butt and kicked him over the side.

As each of the other survivors boarded the I-8, they were immediately roughed up, searched, had life jackets removed and all their valuables, shoes and I.D. tags were taken from them. They were then bound with their arms behind their backs with rope or wire. They were forced to sit on deck with their heads bowed on their knees. Anyone who raised his head or made a noise of any kind was beaten with iron pipes and cut with bayonets. The deck ran red with blood and vomit.

Captain Nilsson, Gus Tilden the Radio Operator, and Francis J. O'Gara were taken to the conning tower and shoved below. Mr. O'Gara was a War Shipping Administration representative en route to the Calcutta office. They were never seen again by the survivors.

While sitting in this position, the survivors were forced to listen to a harangue by the Commander of I-8 (HARRY'S NOTE - the Skipper was K.K. Tatsunosuke Ariizumi) He hurled insults at them, saying:

"You are now my prisoners, Let this be a lesson to you that Americans are weak. You must realize that Japan will rule the world. You are stupid for letting your leaders take you to war. Do you know that the entire American fleet is now at the bottom of the Pacific?"

While all this was going on, the I-8 cruised around looking for any boats or rafts they might have missed. The sub also commenced shelling the NICOLET which was still afloat. During this time of cruising around, a wave came over the deck of the sub, washing three men overboard with their hands tied behind them. Two of them, Carl Rosenbaum (F/WT) and George Kenmore Hess (A.B) survived, but the third man, Lt. Morrison R. Miller, US Army, was never seen again. Lt. Miller had suffered a broken arm abandoning ship so he didn't have much of a chance of surviving.

In the meantime, a gauntlet of 10 to 15 Japanese was formed on the after deck behind the conning tower. Those held on the foredeck could not see what was happening. They could, however, hear the horrible screams of the men who were forced to go through this gauntlet. The Japanese were armed with steel stanchions, bayonets and rifles. Waiting at the end was a huge Japanese, holding a rifle with fixed bayonet in both hands. If any man survived to the end of the gauntlet, he was impaled on the bayonet of this Japanese and his body heaved overboard like a side of beef. Three men survived this torture by jumping overboard halfway through this gauntlet. Even though their hands were still bound, they decided they would take their chance in the ocean regardless of the sharks. All three of them suffered wounds from bayonets and steel pipes. Two of them were from the Merchant crew - Charles E. Pyle (1st Asst. Engr.) and Harold R. Lee (Messman). The third was Robert C. Butler, a US Navy technician.

While all this torture was going on, those sitting on the foredeck, unaware of what was happening on the after deck, were led one by one to the slaughter until there were about 30 men left alive on deck. At this time, the diving siren sounded and the Japanese crew were ordered below. An aircraft had been reported on the radar, heading in the direction of the submarine. Those left on deck with their hands tied behind their backs were left to drown. Seventeen of these men drowned or were killed by sharks.

The remaining 13 men survived by swimming all night, some with their hands still tied. Others were able to get free themselves or were freed by a Navy Seaman who had concealed a knife in his shirt. He cut as many free as he could before the sub went under.

The aircraft reported on radar was in all likelihood, searching for the survivors of the NICOLET. This was the result of the radio message sent by Gus Tilden just before he abandoned ship.

Many of the men were in the water for 13 or 14 hours without any support. About 0800 the next morning (July 3rd) survivors saw a LIBERATOR approaching the scene. It dropped a small rubber dinghy made to hold four people. Eventually, seven men ended up in this dinghy. An hour or so later, three more planes appeared overhead (PBYs) searching for survivors but flew off without any action.

At daylight on July 4th, another LIBERATOR appeared overhead and a ship was seen approaching. This was HMIS HOXA on her way to rescue the survivors. Seven men were found clinging to the small dinghy, 13 others were rescued from rafts or dinghies, and three others were found clinging to wreckage. They were taken to Addu Atoll of the Maldive Islands group, landing there on July 5th where they were interrogated by British Intelligence.

They left Addu Atoll of July 12th aboard HMIS SONNETI, arriving in Colombo on July 14th. On July 27th, they were flown to Calcutta where the three Army men were assigned duties in the area. The 10 crew members and the 10 Naval Armed Guard were eventually taken to Bombay by train. At Bombay, they boarded the USAT GENERAL WILLIAM MITCHELL. They finally got back to the States, landing in San Diego on October 6th, more than 6 months after their horrible ordeal.

Of the 100 men aboard the SS JEAN NICOLET, only 23 survived.

A breakdown of the lost is as follows:

31 Merchant crew;
18 Naval Armed Guard;
27 Passengers

Francis O'Gara was found alive in Ofuna prison camp near Yokohama after the end of hostilities. He had been declared dead by the US Navy. He even had a LIBERTY SHIP named for him, the only living person who was to see his name on a LIBERTY SHIP. The O'GARA was built June 1945 in Panama City, Florida.

Mr. O'Gara had been a sport writer for the Philadelphia INQUIRER prior to Pearl Harbor but early in 1942 he joined the Merchant Marine as a Seaman. After about two years of sea duty he came ashore to work for the WSA.

After the I-8 submerged, O'Gara spent 44 days aboard the sub suffering frequent beatings, denial of food and water most of the time. During the time he got a glimpse of Captain Nilsson and Gus Tilden, the Radio Operator. the I-8 reached Penang on August 15th where he and Captain Nilsson were taken ashore. He never saw the Radio Operator again but did get a brief look at Captain Nilsson through the window of his cell. O'Gara was returned aboard the I-8 on September 15th and eventually ended up in Yokohama on October 9th, 1944.

Captain Nilsson was left behind when O'Gara was taken from Penang to Japan. Nothing is known of his fate. O'Gara was of the opinion that Captain Nilsson was put aboard a Japanese submarine to be transported to Japan and the sub was sunk en route by the US Navy.

The Commander of the I-8 was a brutal, sadistic creep named Tetsunosuke Ariizumi. He had been nicknamed 'The Butcher' by the British Royal Navy because of several other atrocities he had committed against Allied Merchant crews similar to that of the JEAN NICOLET. One such atrocity was perpetrated against a Dutch Merchant ship, the SS TJISALAK on March 26, 1944. Of 103 men on board, only five survived. The men on board this ship suffered the same fate as those on the JEAN NICOLET. The five survivors saved themselves by jumping overboard and swimming underwater despite the fact they were being machine gunned. They eventually reached one of the boats previously abandoned and were picked up by the LIBERTY SHIP SS JAMES A. WALKER on March 30th.

Toward the final days of the war, Ariizumi was I-401a Flotilla Commander and was on the largest submarine ever built, a boat of some 5,000 tons equipped with three catapult planes. Subs of that class were called 'Underseas Aircraft Carriers". At this time, Ariizumi proposed using the I-401 and three other subs of that class to destroy the Panama Canal. When this plan was scrapped in favor of attacking Ulithi, Ariizumi was infuriated.

Upon receipt of the Emperor's surrender, the I-401 proceeded back toward Japan and was surrendered to the U.S. Navy sub USS SEGUNDO. Five of the SEGUNDO's crew were put aboard I-401 as guards.

The U.S. Navy reported that while I-401 was entering Tokyo Bay on August 31, 1945 about 0400 hours, Ariizumi committed suicide and his body was thrown overboard. Mr. O'Gara disputed this report by the Navy and expressed outrage to the Criminal Registration Officer. He agreed with O'Gara and assigned a Nisei investigator to track down Ariizumi. O'Gara was convinced that Ariizumi either was put ashore before the I-401 was captured by the Americans or he slipped through a hatch and swam ashore after entering Tokyo Bay. Upon investigation, it had been determined that the I-401 came within sight of land en route to Tokyo Bay around Sendai in northern Honshu where Ariizumi could easily have been put ashore before the sub surrendered. None of the Navy men on I-401 ever saw Ariizumi aboard nor did they see a body or a burial at sea.

O'Gara was brought back to Japan in 1948 by the War Crimes Tribunal as a witness against Japanese war criminals that he had experienced while he was a prisoner of war. However, the one he wanted most was Ariizumi. He even took it upon himself to search for him personally. He wanted him that bad, and who could blame him!

Some members of the crew of I-8 were tried and received light sentences - but even those sentences were commuted. Ariizumi was never caught. It's very possible that this man and other crew members of the I-8 are still alive and well in Japan today.

O'Gara said the one man who was most helpful, as far as the attack on the JEAN NICOLET, was the one who spoke perfect English from the deck of the sub giving orders to the Americans. He came forward voluntarily to the authorities and told all he knew of the sinkings and atrocities, and identified all he knew to be responsible. His name was Harold Jiro Nakahara; was born in Hawaii and lived there. At the outbreak of the war, he was studying in Japan and unable to return. He had been pressed into service as a radio operator and interpreter.

Francis J. O'Gara died September 18, 1981 at the age of 69.

SURVIVORS OF SS JEAN NICOLET

MERCHANT CREW
Charles E. Pyle
John McDougall
Paul L. Mitchem
Jack C. van Ness
Lloyd B. Ruth
George K. Hess
William B. Flury
Stuart R. Vanderhorst
Carl Rosenbaum
Harold Lee

NAVAL ARMED GUARD

Gerald V. Deal
Teofils Wyrozumski
William E. Simmons
Collie C. Stone
Robert Applegate
Carl L. Bevatori
Robert L. Nuvill
Raymond M. Wheeler
Ora E. Lamb
Archie L. Howard

PASSENGERS

John J. Gussak
Harvey Matyas
Robert C. Butler

To my knowledge, William B. Flury may be the last living survivor of this most heinous of atrocities. Some may still be alive, but Mr. Flury does not know of them. He was denied Prisoner of War status by the U.S. Coast Guard but appealed that decision. Whether he was a prisoner for 5 minutes or five years, one is a prisoner if he has been captured by the enemy. Remember what the Commander, Ariizumi, said:

"You are now my prisoners!'

I wish to extend my thanks to Robert Carl Rosenbaum, son of Carl R. Rosenbaum for much of the material used in this article. Carl Rosenbaum for much of the material used in this article. Carl Rosenbaum was one of the 23 survivors of this tragedy. I am also indebted to William J. Howard Jr., Captain USAFR (Ret) for the information on Francis J. O'Gara. Captain Howard's daughter is married to the son of Mr. O'Gara. Many thanks also to Bill Flury for sharing some of his experiences with me regarding his survival of this atrocity."

This entire article is written by CAPTAIN ARTHUR MOORE (533-1990) and we extend our thanks for his permission to put it in our KTB Magazine. Thanks also to CAPTAIN PETER CHELEMEDOS (3619-1994) for putting us in contact with WILLIAM FLURY (4183-1995)