Olive green cotton bag with flap closure. Hand lettered "H" characters on front and back of bag; Japanese characters handprinted on back. The bag belonged to Colonel James C. Hughes, whom the Japanese held as a prisoner of war (POW) during World War II. Hughes had few possessions while in the camps; this bag was among them. He used it to carry his cup, bowls, and other personal items. Born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1888, Hughes served in the Mexican Border Conflict, World War I, and World War II. In 1942, he was captured by the Japanese on the Bataan peninsula and spent the next 41 months in various Japanese POW camps. He was liberated by Russian forces at Camp Hoten, Manchuria, in 1945. Hughes died in 1964 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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