“Hell Ship” Purple Heart, “James G. Bossinas”, 28th Bomb Squadron

“Hell Ship” Purple Heart, slot brooch, machine-engraved “James G. Bossinas”.

Private James G. Bossinas, 28th Bomb Squadron, 19th Bomb Group, had been sent to Mindanao to help build airfields and support structures. He was captured by the Japanese on 7 May 1942. On 3 September 1944, he left Zamboanga, Mindanao, with 750 American prisoners of war aboard the Shinyo Maru. That ship, which was not marked as carrying prisoners, was torpedoed and sunk by USS Paddle (SS-263), killing all but 83 of the prisoners on board, including Bossinas. Bossinas was from Chicago.