On 1 July 1942 the unmarked POW transport MONTEVIDEO MARU, was torpedoed and sunk by USS STURGEON, (submarine), off Luzon, Philippines.

Onboard were 1035 Australian POW's, including 835 men from the 2/22 Infantry Battalion, who had been captured at Rabaul, New Britain, in March 1942. Not a single POW survived the sinking, and this became Australia's worst loss of life at sea.

Two Navy personnel, (SBLT E. H. F. Mitchell, RANVR, and CPO Signals Yeoman S. Lamont), were among those who perished.

Source:  Trevor Powell, Australian Maritime History,       (Image - Australian War Memorial)