On September 15, the three submarines reformed their scouting line. That afternoon, the Pampanito radioed the other two that they were to return to the scene of action from the 12th. The Rakuyo Maru had been carrying Australian and British prisoners of war, 1159 who had been either killed in the attack or thereafter.
By 20:45, the Sealion had taken on 54 POWs and started back to Saipan. All of them were coated with crude oil and were in poor health health suffering from malaria, nutritional diseases such as pellagra and beriberi and exposure. Three of them died on the way before they reached Balintang Channel of September 17.
On September 18, the USS Case (DD-370) rendezvoused with the Sealion and transferred a doctor and pharmacist's mate to them. A fourth POW died, and on September 20, the Sealion reached Tanapag Harbor where they transferred the surviving 50 POWs to the Army hospital there.
There was a movie made about this called "Return from the River Kwai" (most of the POWs had been involved with the construction of the bridge over that river), but it was never released in the United States. Most information of the battle is brushed over and with little or no information that the attack was ordered by American high command and carried out by U.S. submarines and killed so many Allied prisoners.
More Than a Bit Embarrassing. --GreGen
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