# POW & Family Research **URL:** https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/c/pow-family-research/5.md [Latest](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/latest.md) · [Categories](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/categories.md) --- ## [Looking for information about a POW? Start Here](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/looking-for-information-about-a-pow-start-here/18)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2026, 2:26am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/looking-for-information-about-a-pow-start-here/18 "2026-08-28T02:26:43Z")
We give descendants a standard format: POW’s full name: Service number: Rank: Service/Unit: Nationality: Date/place captured: Known POW camp: Known Hellship: Survived/Died: What information are you looking for? … --- ## [About the POW & Family Research category](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/about-the-pow-family-research-category/7)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/about-the-pow-family-research-category/7 "2026-08-28T00:39:38Z")
A place for POW families, descendants, and researchers to seek information, share family histories, identify records, and collaborate on individual POW research. --- ## [2LT George Stewart](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/2lt-george-stewart/66)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 2:26am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/2lt-george-stewart/66 "2026-09-19T02:26:54Z")
2LT George Stewart, my uncle, also lost on the Shinyu Maru. My family is very interested in any results. We have submitted DNA samples for DPAA in case there were any remains. According to an eyewitness that spoke to a c… --- ## [1st Lt. Howard Irish Jr](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/1st-lt-howard-irish-jr/65)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/1st-lt-howard-irish-jr/65 "2026-09-19T02:25:49Z")
Hi! I’m new to this group. I recently joined because there is a Soldier from my hometown Coopersville Michigan that was lost on the Shinyo Maru in Sept 1944. 1st Lt. Howard Irish Jr. 91st coast artillery P. S. He was a… --- ## [Petritz- Oryoku Maru](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/petritz-oryoku-maru/64)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 2:24am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/petritz-oryoku-maru/64 "2026-09-19T02:24:28Z")
I am new to the group as well. My father escaped from the Oryoku Maru when it was bombed in Subic Bay during World War II. In the late 1970s, while my brother was stationed in Japan and my parents returned to Subic Bay. … --- ## [Fr.Bervis Joseph Lafleur](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/fr-bervis-joseph-lafleur/63)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 2:20am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/fr-bervis-joseph-lafleur/63 "2026-09-19T02:20:22Z")
Hi! I’m new to this group. I recently joined because Fr.Francis Lowe’s father, & uncle were both WW2 POW in the Philippines. We’re continuing the cause for Fr.Bervis Joseph Lafleur, WW2 POW martyr in the Shinyo Maru Hell… --- ## [Lowell Hall Strand](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/lowell-hall-strand/62)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 2:19am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/lowell-hall-strand/62 "2026-09-19T02:19:01Z")
Hi! I’m new to this group. I recently joined because I was doing some searching for information about Lowell Hall Strand. Lowell is the first cousin of my maternal Grandfather. My parents named me Lowell in honor of hi… --- ## [Willis Daman Wright and Neil Bliss Peterson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/willis-daman-wright-and-neil-bliss-peterson/61)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/willis-daman-wright-and-neil-bliss-peterson/61 "2026-09-19T02:15:20Z")
Hello everyone, I’m new to the group and wanted to introduce myself. I joined because two of my great-grandmother’s nephews died in 1944 aboard Japanese hellships. They were first cousins. Their mothers were sisters: •… --- ## [Understanding POW Service Records](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/understanding-pow-service-records/46)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2026, 9:46am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/understanding-pow-service-records/46 "2026-08-28T09:46:37Z")
Understanding POW Service Records — What Do the Documents Tell Us? Researching a former prisoner of war can be confusing, particularly when you first encounter military service records, POW cards, casualty reports, camp … --- ## [Can We Reconstruct One POW's Entire Journey?](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/can-we-reconstruct-one-pows-entire-journey/37)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2026, 2:57am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/can-we-reconstruct-one-pows-entire-journey/37 "2026-08-28T02:57:33Z")
A POW’s captivity was rarely defined by a single camp or Hellship. A man might have been captured in the Philippines, survived the Bataan Death March, passed through several camps, been transported aboard one or more He… --- ## [What Story Did a POW Bring Home That Was Never Written Down?](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/what-story-did-a-pow-bring-home-that-was-never-written-down/35)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/what-story-did-a-pow-bring-home-that-was-never-written-down/35 "2026-08-28T02:54:40Z")
Not all POW history exists in government archives. Many former prisoners told their families stories that were never recorded in official reports—about another prisoner, a guard, a camp, a Hellship voyage, an escape, an… --- ## [What Is the One Question About Your POW Relative You Still Cannot Answer?](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-one-question-about-your-pow-relative-you-still-cannot-answer/32)
**Author:** [@Gerald\_Anderson](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/u/Gerald_Anderson)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [August 28, 2026, 2:53am UTC](https://hellshipsmemorial.discourse.group/t/what-is-the-one-question-about-your-pow-relative-you-still-cannot-answer/32 "2026-08-28T02:53:32Z")
For many POW families, there is one question that has remained unanswered for decades. Where was he held? Which Hellship was he aboard? What happened during a missing period in his records? How did he die? Who was with …