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Cemetery plot location: A-07-15



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Classification: POW
Identification number: PWJA 145483
Surname: MACHII
Other names: Ichiro
Plate name: MACHII, ICHIRO
AKA (Also Known As): Ichire MACHII
Name in kanji: 町井 一郎
Grave location: A-07-15
Date of birth: 1919-10-15
Place of birth: 272-2, Oaza Hanashi, Motegi-machi, Hana-gun, Tochigi-ken, Japan
Private address:

272-2, Oaza Hanashi, Motegi-machi, Hana-gun, Tochigi-ken, Japan

Business address:

Not recorded

Military rank: Sergeant
Unit regimental number: Army, Moto 2808, Hondo Butai, 62 Regiment, Engineers. Headquarters Company
Date of capture: 1943-03-09
Place of capture: Goodenough Island
Reason for internment: Prisoner of war
Camp interned: Gaythorne
Date interned: 1943-03-31
Health condition on arrival: Not recorded
Trade or occupation: Farmer
Length of residence in Australia: Not recorded
Date of entry: Not recorded
Port of disembarkation: Not recorded
Ship: Not recorded
Personal effects:

Nil

Religion: Buddhist
Nationality: Japanese
Marital status: Married
Next of kin: Kimii MACHII
Address of next of kin: 272-2, Oaza Hanashi, Motegi-machi, Hana-gun, Tochigi-ken, Japan
Relationship to next of kin: Wife
Father’s name: Tamekichi MACHII
Father’s occupation: Farmer
Mother’s maiden name: Roku (maiden name unknown)
Identification: Height 5'2", weight 140 lbs, sallow complexion, black hair, dark eyes
Movement report:

MACHII was transferred from Gaythorne to Cowra on 4 July 1943. He died in the breakout.

Cause of death: Burnt in hut
Date of death: 1944-08-05
Cremation or burial: Burial
Date of burial: Not recorded
Place of first burial: Cowra
Extra information:

MACHII’s records, held at the Office of Australian War Graves, are sketchy. His body, burned inside a hut, was never definitively identified. The grave plaque says, “Buried near this spot”, as his remains could not be separated from others, and therefore were not individually identified.

He was on the Shinai Maru when it was sunk. He must have drifted to Goodenough Island on a rescue boat.

Related images:

MACHII’s Allied Translator & Interpreter Section (ATIS) interrogation report summary (pdf): 

089-292-MACHII-Ichiro-AJRP

The Cowra Japanese War Cemetery Database Project ( 2016-2024 ) © Embassy of Japan, Canberra