Sex
Male
Status
Deceased
Oiler in the engine room of the Admiral Y.S. Williams, an American freighter in dry dock at Hong Kong in December 1941. Served as armed auxiliary during battle for Hong Kong. Escaped to unoccupied China after the fall of Hong Kong on December 25, 1941. Back in USA by July 1942. From St. Louis, Missouri.
Comments
American Merchant Sailors
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27253496
American Merchant Sailors at Sham Shui Po and Stanley
The experience of American civilians during the invasion and occupation of Hong Kong has received little attention from scholars and historians, who have tended to focus on the experience of British civilians in Hong Kong, particularly those who spent the war in the Stanley civilian internment camp. The Americans comprised a relatively small portion of the larger foreign population in Hong Kong, so the focus on the British community is unsurprising. However, the colony’s wartime history nonetheless remains incomplete because the American civilian story has never been studied in a comprehensive fashion. This article addresses this gap in the existing canon of research by focusing on one small subgroup of American civilians: the merchant mariners of the freighter SS Admiral Y.S. Williams, who were captured along with their ship in Hong Kong in December 1941 and sent to the Stanley internment camp or the Sham Shui Po Prisoner of War (POW) camp.
Vasily Charles Hatlan 18 April 1920 - 1 Augusr 2008
Could this be him? GIVEN NAME Vasily Charles FAMILY NAME Hatlan
Vasily Charles Hatlan (sic) born 18 April 1920 in St Louis City Missouri
US Draft Cards Seaman Unit San Pedro California
Vasily Charles Hatlan date of birth 18 April 1920 Missouri
Employer Coasturize (?) Line Portland Oregon Occupation Wiper(?)
US Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists
Vasily Charles Hatlan Male Nationality Ukranian Age 24 Arrival San Franciso 23 May 1945
Death Medical Examiner Los Angeles
Death 1 August 2008 Vasily Charles Hatlan aged 88 Escondido, San Diego (Escondido), California, USA
Spouse Martha Magdalena Gengler 1913 - 1995
Vasily Charles Hatlan
Seems quite possible that the above information is for the Vasily Charles Hatlan who served aboard the Admiral Y.S. Williams. Thank you. Not sure about the Ukrainian reference--perhaps it refers to ethnic background rather than nationality, since Hatlan was apparently a U.S. citizen by birth. Coasturize Line is probably Coastwise Line. --Steven Bailey (a.k.a. ssuni86 and author of the above mentioned article)