A version of this story is included in a book titled Unexplained Mysteries of World War II, by William B. Breuer, published in 2006 by Castle Books and reprinted in 2011.
Mr. Breuer's version presents the facts in this manner:
On 8 February 1945, a group of wounded Americans was off loaded from the USS LeJeune at Boston, MA. Among the wounded men was one who had a medical tag which identified him as - "Charles A. Jameson, 49, religion Catholic, citizenship American, Cutty Sark".
"Jameson" was suffering from a head injury and infected shrapnel wounds in his back. He was in a coma. When he evenutally came out of his coma, he could only identify himself by repeating the same information which had been on the card: "Charles A. Jameson, 49, religion Catholic, citizenship American, Cutty Sark".
Extensive efforts were made by military and Red Cross authorities to confirm the patient's identity, with no luck. There were no listings for a Charles A. Jameson in Navy, Coast Guard, or Merchant Marine records. The Cutty Sark was a sailing ship of the 19th century. No records existed of any ships named "Cutty Sark" in World War II.
It was learned that "Jameson" was deaf, and probably had been since his wounding. He communicated by writing on pads. As his condition improved, he was able to recall the names of all the world's major steamship companies. He was also able to describe in great detail, the Royal Navy's gunnery school in Gosport, England. British Navy and Merchant records were also searched for a Charles A. Jameson - with no luck.
One day, he wrote on his pad that he thought he had served aboard the merchant ship Hinemoa as first mate. He stated that the Hinemoa was steaming from Chile to England when it was sunk by a German criuser in the Atlantic.
Again, records were searched and indeed, a ship named Hinemoa had been sunk by a German ship, but in the English Channel, not the open Atlantic. A number of surviving crewmembers of the Hinemoa were located and shown a photo of "Jameson". None of them recognized his photo, and none recalled a first mate by that name.
William Breuer's narration of the story concludes that "No relative or friend ever visited him in the hospital where he was a patient for nearly 12 years, even though his photo had been published in countless newspapers."