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Cemetery plot location: A-07-28



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Classification: POW
Identification number: PWJA 145023
Surname: KATSUKURA
Other names: Kanemitsu
Plate name: KATSUKURA, KANEMITSU
AKA (Also Known As): Kanemidzu KATSUKURA
Name in kanji: 勝倉 兼光
Grave location: A-07-28
Date of birth: 1907-04-12
Place of birth: Kamada, Owada, Kameya-mura, Ishigin, Fukushima-ken, Japan
Private address:

Kamada, Owada, Kameya-mura, Ishigin, Fukushima-ken, Japan

Business address:

Not recorded

Military rank: 1st Class Seaman
Unit regimental number: Navy, 12684 Regiment, Yasuda Unit, Yoshioka Company
Date of capture: 1942-10-17
Place of capture: Milne Bay, New Guinea
Reason for internment: Prisoner of war
Camp interned: Cowra
Date interned: 1942-10-25
Health condition on arrival: Not recorded
Trade or occupation: Labourer
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: Mitsuko KATSUKURA
Address of next of kin: 17 Ishiki, Komiyo-mura, Kamada, Fukushima-ken, Japan
Relationship to next of kin: Wife
Father’s name: Yaso KATSUKURA
Father’s occupation: Not recorded
Mother’s maiden name: Chio KATSUKURA
Identification: Height 5'9", weight 147 lbs, dark complexion, black hair, brown eyes
Movement report:

KATSUKURA was interned in Gaythorne. He was hospitalised in November 1942 for 20 days for observation. He was transferred to Cowra on 9 January 1943. He was hospitalised for 10 days in January 1943, 15 days in February 1943, 10 days in March 1943, and 14 days in July 1943. Causes of the hospitalisations were not recorded. He died in the breakout.

Cause of death: Burnt in hut
Date of death: 1944-08-05
Cremation or burial: Burial
Date of burial: 1944-08-08
Place of first burial: Cowra
Extra information:

KATSUKURA had three sons and one daughter. He was in the Japanese Navy for three years between 1939 and 1942.
KATSUKURA’s  body could not be identified because he was burnt in a hut.  For this reason, his grave plaque is engraved as “Buried near this spot”.

Related images:

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

083-311-KATSUKURA-Kanemitsu-AJRP

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