The Rabaul Historical Society is gearing up to host the 75th Anniversary of the tragedy of the Montevideo Maru.
A memorial dusk service will be held on the day of its departure from Rabaul 75 years ago - 29th June 1942 at the Montevideo Maru Memorial, Rabaul Town foreshore.
1053 Australian soldiers and civilians disappeared without trace when the Japanese transport ‘hellship’ Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by an American submarine off the Philippines coast in 1942.
Twice as many Australians died in this single incident than the entire Vietnam War. Just over 400 more perished on the Montevideo Maru than on the HMAS Sydney after it was sunk by the German raider Kormoran in 1941.
"The sinking of the Montevideo Maru was the greatest disaster at sea ever suffered by Australians," said prominent historian Hank Nelson, who has spent decades researching the loss of 845 prisoners of war and 208 civilians.
The Australians had been taken aboard the Montevideo Maru on June 22, 1942, at Rabaul where they'd been interned after the Japanese invasion and occupation of the former capital of Australian-mandated New Guinea. It was bound for Hainan.
However, it was intercepted and sunk by the USS Sturgeon about 60 miles west of Cape Luzon in the Philippines in the early hours on July 1.
The submarine commander, Lieutenant William "Bull" Wright, had no way of knowing the ship was carrying allied troops and civilians.
Some descendents of the Australians still fiercely resist this official version and believe their men were executed in New Guinea. They believe the ship's passenger list was "padded" by the Japanese to try to cover up war crimes.
There is enormous confusion over the nominal roll, which was apparently lost from the national archives after being brought back from Japan by post-war investigators.
The Rabaul Historical Society expects to welcome over 50 visitors, including the Australian High Commissioner and Members of the Australian Defence Force, to Rabaul to commemorate and pay respects to their loved ones lost on the Montevideo Maru.
Rabaul Has Not Forgotten – lest we forget.
(USS Sturgeon, the sub that sank Montevideo Maru – Photos and excerpts courtesy of Max Uechtritz)