VOL 9, No 1 2009 SPRING

CHINA GUNBOATMAN

U S ASIATIC FLEET

1845 1942

FRIENDSHIP

U.S. ASIATIC FLEET

Yangtze River and Pirates

2009 REUNION INFORMATION

Otus was laid down under Maritime Commission Contract 3 June 1940 by the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry-dock

Co., Kearny, N.J.; launched as SS Fred Morris 2 November 1940; sponsored by Mrs. Fred Allain Morris; acquired

by the Navy 1 March 1941; and commissioned as Otus (AS-20) 19 March 1941, Comdr. Joel Newsom, in command.

Assigned to the Asiatic Fleet as a submarine tender, she was anchored in Mariveles Harbor, Philippine Islands, on

7 December 1941. On 10 December 1941 she was slightly damaged during the Japanese air raid on the Cavite Navy

Yard, when several bombs landed near her starboard side. Not wanting to risk one of the few tenders in his com-

mand, Admiral Hart, Commander Asiatic Fleet ordered Otus to leave the Philippines. Departing 10 December she

arrived at Port Darwin, Australia, 28 December.

Remaining at Port Darwin through January 1942, Otus steamed to Java and accompanied severely damaged

Marblehead to Trincomalee Harbor, Ceylon, during February and the first part of March. She returned to Australia

10 March, where she tended submarines at Fremantle until departing for the United States 25 July. Arriving Mare

Island Naval Shipyard 24 August, Otus underwent an extensive overhaul until 23 January 1943. After a brief stop at

Pearl Harbor she returned to Australia 22 February where she remained, steaming from port to port as the demand for

her services dictated, until 1 September. From September 1943 until December 1944 Otus served at four different

sites in New Guinea furnishing tender services for escort vessels, minecraft, and amphibious craft as well as subma-

rines. Departing Hollandia Bay 25 December, Otus arrived at San Pedro Bay, Leyte Gulf, Philippines, 6 January

1945 and commenced providing routine upkeep and emergency repairs to the ships of the Southwest Pacific Area.

On 25 June 1945 her classification was changed to ARG-20 (Repair Ship, Internal Combustion Engines). On 1

December 1945 Otus left San Pedro Bay en-route to Portland, Ore. Arriving 2 January 1946, she was assigned the

duty of deactivating vessels. She carried out this work at both Portland and Astoria until 29 June 1946, when she

steamed to Seattle to commence inactivation overhaul.

Otus decommissioned 20 August 1946 and was sold the following day. She was struck from the Navy List 25

September 1946. In 1970 she is berthed at Olympia, Wash. with the National Defense Reserve Fleet. Otus received

one battle star for service in World War II.

2

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President-Secretary-Editor-Historian Ray D. Kester, 6128 SHERBORN LN, SPRINGFIELD VA 22152-1630 Tel/Fax: 703-451-2520 raykstr@verizon.net

Treasurer Charles W. Ankerberg, 4114 NARVAREZ WAY S ST PETERSBURG FL 33773-4037 727-867-3891

Addresses available in USAFR address list: Parliamentarian:

Lowell Lawson Chaplain Emeritus

Jack Faust Vice-presidents:

John S. Slaughter, J. D. Ford Cliff Teer, 4-pipers Denver Keplinger, Support William D. Gill, Marblehead Clarence Wills, Oilers M. M. “Turk” Turner, POWs Charles “Ken” Reed, PGs Charley Fetty, PRs Barry Vilardo, Support

************************* INSIDE: page

Bulletin Board 3 Asiatic Fleet Room 4 Sinking History Arisan Maru 5 Asiatic Fleet Environment 6 Yangtze River 8 Piracy 11 Shanghai today 14 Memories, river pilots & 15 Chefoo 16 Reunion hotel & information 18 Reunion registration 19

U. S. Asiatic Fleet reunion is to promote friend-ship, camaraderie and unity among former Sail-ors and Marines (officer, enlisted or passenger), who served in any staff, ship, squadron, division, Shore station or Marine detachment/unit (including 4th Marines & embassy guards in China and Japan) of the United States Asiatic fleet, 1910-1942, and their families—friends and interested persons are welcome. MEMBERSHIP:

All members will identify with their ship or station.

MEMBERSHIP DUES:

There are no annual membership dues. A life membership donation of $30 or more

is, acknowledged by a “Paid up for life” mem-bership card and the China Gunboatman, former SCYPAF newsletter.

Life member and other donations will be

used to defray costs of reunion mailings. Please mail checks, payable to USAFR, to

Charles W. Ankerberg, treasurer

NOTE: 1. USAFR China Gunboatman, is mailed to Life and paid members. 2. Please send your photos and stories, no mat-ter how minor, to the editor and share the history of an exciting period that will never exist again. Remember to include permission to copy and

publish your stories or photos. Unless other-wise instructed, all material will be copied and returned.

REUNION STATUS:

Active membership 75 USNAFR Life members 80 SCYPAF paid members 55 Unpaid members 215 Membership 350.

U S ASIATIC FLEET REUNION

1845 1942

fRIENDSHIP

3

BULLETIN

Those who have crossed the Bar:

—Fair winds and following seas—

Unable To Forward:

Information?

BOARD

Question: Is there a Netherlands Medal for action in the

Dutch East Indies during the first 85 days of WWII? If

so, was it awarded to Netherlands forces only or to

American, British, Dutch and Australian (ABDA)

forces in Battles of Badoeng strait, Flores Sea, Java

Sea, etc.?

Answer: There were Dutch awards: "War

Commemoration Cross" (Oorlogs-Herinneringskruis)

available for Dutch service personnel, which cross was

also granted to service personnel of the allied countries.

Furthermore, it is still possible to grant the

"Mobilization-War Cross" (Mobilisatie-Oorlogskruis)

for military service during the mobilization and the

Second World War, but

only to Dutch former service personnel. Service personnel of the USA, Great Britain,

Poland, Canada, France and probably Australia

received awards (on rare occasions and by Royal

decree).

Following the Second World War, the

governments of the allied countries agreed that they

would not grant awards to service personnel of

countries other than their own. By way of exception,

Dutch awards (War Commemoration Cross, awards for

gallantry as well as Royal awards) were on rare

occasions and by Royal decree granted to service

personnel of other countries , but never on a structural

scale. In view of the above, it is no longer possible to

grant Dutch awards to non-native Dutch service

personnel who carried out military duties on (former)

Dutch territory during the Second World War, be it in

the former Dutch East Indies or in the former Dutch

New Guinea.

Decoration Policy & Awards Division Ministry of Defence PO Box 20703 2500 ES The Hague Netherlands

CAPT Lodwick H. Alford USN (Ret) STEWART

James W. Claussen 4-PIPER

Leroy W. Crawford MARBLEHEAD/WHIPPLE

Cpt Eddie Daniel TULSA

Burt Koentopp ALDEN

Opal G. Menke BLACKHAWK1

Robert S. Miller 4-PIPER

John C. Moe AUGUSTA

Anthony Papacoda 4-PIPER

Mrs. Kelva Pierce 4-PIPER

B. G. Robinson POW POPE/PERCH

Douglas E. Whitney BLACKHAWK

Mrs. Esther M. Anna 4-PIPER

Donald Blue BLACK HAWK

Robin Boyes OAHU

Mr. & Mrs. J. Butterfield POW POPE/PERCH

Mrs. Mary Carleo 4-PIPER

John T. Darby J.D. FORD

Charles Greiner 4-PIPER

Dwain T. Hart BLACK HAWK

Charles Hensley PAUL JONES

Farrell Leigh Kluttz 4-PIPER

G. E. McCammon TRINITY

CAPT. J. Michel, USN (Ret.) POW POPE/PERCH

Donald Morehead BLACK HAWK

Kathy A. Neff 4-PIPER

Jack E. Norton 4-PIPER

William R. Seward POPE POW

A. E. Singleton POW POPE/PERCH

Mrs. Liena Slagle 4-PIPER

Jack D. Smith HOUSTON POW

John R Thirsk BLACK HAWK

4

Excerpts from ROA San Diego Chapter

Roarring News, August 1997

We remember the Alamo, we remem-

ber the Maine, and we remember Pearl Harbor.

The Asiatic Fleet recognized by many awards

for Valor, Meritorious Service—Achievement

relegated to history—is remembered by those

who served, and forgotten in contemporary

history.

We agree that the Asiatic Fleet was

expendable and although its loss was a trag-

edy, it was necessary in a time of war. How-

ever, our government, our Navy Department

and our national media have seldom mentioned

the "above and beyond the call of duty"

achievements of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet during

those 3 months of madness from December

1941 to March 1942

It's a pity that so many young Ameri-

cans have never heard of the Asiatic Fleet.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to

get the word out to Americans in 1942. He

spoke proudly of the Asiatic Fleet's efforts. He

sin-gled out the Marblehead and the Houston

in one of his famous fireside radio chats. He

said that "the fighting spirit shown by the men

of the Asiatic Fleet was the stuff of which

Americans were made and that spirit was go-

ing to destroy the Japanese and bring the

en-emy to their knees."

There is one American who has never

forgotten those three months of madness—he

has done something to educate our young

Americans about the American spirit. He is

Captain John P. Bracken, USNR (Retired). He

conceived the idea for and sponsored an Asi-

atic Fleet Room at the Heritage Center of the

U.S. Navy Memorial. Informal dedication was

a part of the 1997 U.S. Navy Asiatic Fleet

Combined Forces reunion. Formal dedication

occurred on August 22, 1997 with proper

regard for the customs and traditions of the

Naval Service.

Sylvia Gooding Gross, a recently de-ceased widow bequeathed the entire proceeds

of the sale of her home to the Navy Memorial

to educate future generations about the proud

history of the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Fleet.

The Asiatic Fleet Room, the Navy

Memorial Foundation conference room, has

been updated and will include the original

signed Proclamation by President Bush that

designated March 1, 2002 as the Asiatic Fleet

Memorial Day and called upon all Americans

to observe this day with appropriate ceremo-

nies. There will also be appropriate Asiatic

Fleet memorabilia, photos, Houston (CA-30)

and Marblehead (CL-12) models, and four wall

panel mounted posters, 20 x 26 inches: • In Memoriam, U.S. Asiatic Fleet,

a brief Asiatic Fleet history.

• U.S. Asiatic Fleet, Composition of the

U.S. Asiatic Fleet December 8,1941.

• Vessels of the Asiatic Fleet lost in

battle between December 7, 1941

and March 3, 1942.

• Lest We Forget, a summary of the

campaign that resulted in a Presidential

Proclamation.

Sylvia’s deceased husband,

CWO George Brewer Gooding, USN, was Engineering Officer aboard Bittern AM-36.

The Japanese air raid on Cavite Navy

Yard 10 December 1941 found Bittern under-

going repairs. Although not hit, Bittern suf-

fered extensive damage from fire, near misses,

and flying debris from Sealion (SS-195)

moored along-side. Too badly damaged for

repair, Bittern was scuttled in Manila Bay after

her crew had transferred to Quail (AM-15).

After sweeping a channel and provid-

ing access to South Harbor, Corregidor. Her

crew then went ashore to aid in the defense of

that island. Damaged by enemy bombs and

guns, Quail was scuttled 5 May 1942 by US

forces to prevent her capture. Part of her crew

escaped to Darwin, Australia, in a 36-foot

motor launch. (Con’t page 5 & Ref page 7)

U.S. ASIATIC FLEET ROOM, in the Navy Memorial's Naval Heritage Center

5

(From page 4)

He was in a draft of prisoners assembled at Old Bilibid Prison, Manila, Philippines starting in

late September 1944 for transport to Japan to work as forced labor. Many came from the Cabanatuan

Prison Camp. A draft of approximately 1,800 boarded the Arisan Maru on October 10, 1944.

On October 11, 1944 the Arisan Maru departed Manila with about 1,782 US POW's and about

100 civilians in the cargo holds. That ship anchored off Palawan until October 20th. Returned to Manila

to join Convoy MATA-30 which sailed on October 21, 1944.

On October 23rd when the convoy was about 200 miles northwest of Luzon two packs of U.S.

submarines (total of nine submarines) began their attacks on this convoy.

About 5:30 p.m. on October 24, 1944 the USS Snook (SS-279) sent three torpedoes at the Arisan Maru. It was hit aft of midships causing the ship to split open with the rear section sinking

downward into the sea. A torpedo is thought to have hit in number three hold where Japanese troops and

civilians were located. The 6,886 ton Arisan Maru sank in the Bashi Straits, South China Sea, Latitude

20 o 46’ N, Longitude 118 o 18’ E, on October 24, 1944 at about 5:00 PM.

The Japanese quickly evacuated the ship and were picked up by their destroyer escorts. Before

leaving, the Japanese guards cut rope ladders into the prisoner holds; but these were restored by the pris-

oners and the survivors agree that almost all prisoners were able to get off the ship. Many scavenged

whatever food and water they could before leaving the ship. At first, many

prisoners swam toward the Japanese destroyers hoping for rescue. They

were pushed and beaten away with poles. The men climbed on whatever

wreckage they could find to stay afloat for rescue. All died except for nine

of the POWs. This was the largest loss of American lives in a single disas-

ter at sea.

How could this happen? Individual messages were frequently garbled. Re-

ception was sometimes poor, and decryption, translation, and interpretation

flawed. What was interpreted by one intelligence unit as "troops" was in-

terpreted by another as "prisoners of war." In the context of the many other

convoy and transport messages, as well as the cargo histories of the

"death" ships, there was ample evidence suggesting these ships typically

carried munitions and reinforcements. Given, too, that the "hell ships"

were unmarked, there was no way U.S. Navy aircraft and submarines

could know Allied prisoners of war were aboard.

Regardless of the final count, the Arisan still represents the greatest loss of American life in a single

military sinking. Approximately 5,000 American men died on hell ships in transit from the Philippines

to Japan. The total is over 20,000 men lost when considering all Allied prisoners on Japanese hell ships

traveling in the Pacific. If they were not killed by friendly fire in the fog of war by Allied planes and

submarines they died in the filthy holds of the freighters carrying them to Japan for forced la-

bor. Questions have been raised regarding when and what was known about these “Hell Ships” by

American commanders, a question still being researched. We know that spies were active in Manila and

it was no secret that prisoners were being shipped to Japan. The problem was to identify the ships in a

vast sea. The ships carried no special markings and in fact the Japanese even switched numbers on the

Arisan while it lay off Palawan. It is a matter of record that the group of five survivors of the Arisan was

debriefed in mid November at the 14th Air Force in China and again on December 5th in Washington.

Arisan Maru

SINKING HISTORY (excerpts from William Bowen and Naval Hitory)

POW GOODING, George Brewer, CWO Machinist, USN.

6

ASIATIC FLEET ENVIRIONMENT 1927-41

(Excerpts from U.S. Navy Annual Reports & Navy History)

1927: the regular forces of the Asiatic Fleet been had to be increased by the addition of 3 cruisers, 2 transports, and a brigade of marines consisting of some 4,400 officers and men.

The protection of American citizens in China has been most difficult and has required the

greatest amount of tact, patience, and calm judgment in the face of tremendous provocation

and insult by the various local authorities, as well as actual assault and attack by mobs of fren-

zied zealots. The principle role of protection has been the actual transporting in many cases,

and always the guarding and convoying of refugees from the interior during the period of

evacuation, their concentration in certain centers, and protection therein until the storm of

lawlessness had swept on, or on their final evacuation from the war-torn country.

The regularly assigned forces of the Asiatic Fleet were augmented by the temporary

assignment of Light Cruiser Division 3 to the Asiatic Fleet. Marines were transported to

Shanghai by the USS Chaumont and USS Henderson, these vessels remaining in Chinese

waters under orders of the commander in chief, Asiatic Fleet. The USS Gold Star was used to

transport marines and equipment from Guam to Manila.

In order to transport additional marines to the Asiatic Station it became necessary to use

the steamship President Grant, of the Dollar Line.

During the fall of 1930 the Central Government of China under Chiang-Kai-Shek consoli-

dated its power over the greater part of China and effected an understanding with Chang-

Hsueh-Liang, who then assumed control of all the territory north of the Yellow River.

1932: Disturbed conditions in north China necessitated the maintenance of the gunboat Tulsa, later relieved by the Asheville, in the Tientsin-Taku-Chefoo area throughout the year.

The legation guard of about 457 marines remained at Peiping during the year. Unsettled con-

ditions along the entire length of the Yangtze made it necessary to assign destroyers, usually

three at a time, to assist the Yangtze Patrol in its duties.

When conditions demanded their presence, destroyers and the Tulsa and Sacramento were

assigned to the south China seaports of Foochow, Amoy, and Swatow. During April, May,

and June, 1932, political unrest and the menace from communist attacks in the Amoy area

became so alarming and the necessity for the protection of the International Settlement of

Kulangsu became so apparent that the Tulsa, Sacramento, Canopus, and other vessels were

ordered to Amoy to protect Americans or evacuate them if necessary. The Sacramento

remained there until the end of the year.

Internal problems of China. In addition to the organized communists in these areas, there

are large bands of former soldiers terrorizing the country. Their operations were particularly

demoralizing to foreign interests along the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze, where,

during the low-water period of the past year, navigation by commercial vessels became defi-

nitely unsafe, necessitating the continued maintenance of the convoy system and of armed

guards in American merchant vessels operating in the middle and upper Yangtze River.

The spread of communism and banditry became so acute that on January 23, 1932, the

consul general at Hankow recommended that the Yangtze Patrol be increased in order to be

able to give necessary protection to United States citizens and their interests

7

1933: Sino-Japanese hostilities were confined largely to north China and recently terminated as the result of the truce signed at Tangku.

Anti-Japanese demonstrations and boycott activities in the larger Chinese cities and ports frequently

endangered American lives and interests. The continued maintenance of the convoy system and of armed guards

aboard American merchant vessels was necessary.

The legation guard of about 540 marines remained at Peiping during the year.

1934: China continues in a state of disruption with internecine strife and communist-bandit activities now engaging the wholesale attention of the Government forces.

Banditry and communism continue rife along the Yangtze Valley where out Yangtze Patrol and armed guards

of Marines afford protection to American citizens and their interests. The spread of communism along South

China Littoral has frequently necessitated, upon consular request, the presence of gunboats or destroyers of South

China ports for varying periods. Their timely presence has had a very steadying effect in these and other seaports.

The flagship of the Asiatic Fleet was the Houston until 14 November 1933 when she was relieved by the

Augusta. The Houston returned to the United States and, after suitable overhaul, joined the Cruisers Scouting

Force, US Fleet

1941: 28 February 1941, Asiatic Fleet was renamed U. S. Asiatic Fleet.

In July 1941, American, British Commonwealth, Dutch, and Australian (ABDA) diplomatic and military planning determined that the principal military effort of the Associated Powers will be in the Atlantic and European Areas, and that

operations in other areas will be conducted to facilitate that effort. The U. S. Navy would not reinforce the Asiatic Fleet by

the Pacific Fleet and assumed that war with Japan would see destruction of United States and allied air and naval forces in

these regions. U. S. Pacific Fleet would defend the Malay Barrier, if the Japanese “made a direct act of war” against ABDA

territory.

8 December 1941, Japanese commence hostilities—war!

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SUBMARINE MINE (Reference from page 4)

In military and naval operations, a stationary explosive device placed in the water and designed to destroy ships

that touch or approach it. Submarine mines have been used since the mid-19th century. They consist of an explosive charge

fitted with a device that detonates the charge when a ship or submarine is nearby. Placed by vessels called minelayers or

dropped by aircraft, they are anchored to the sea floor by a cable. Various types of submarine mines are detonated by

contact, by an approaching ship's magnetic field, by changes in water pressure, or by the sound of a ship's propellers. The

mine was the most effective antisubmarine weapon in World War I. Its role was even greater in World War II, when mines

sank 1,118 Allied ships and 1,316 Axis ships.

To counter the threat posed by naval mines, naval warships were equipped with paravanes, streamed (towed) from

the bow of a ship. Paravanes were designed that at a preset depth it would pull the towing wire taut. When this wire struck a

mine cable, the cable was deflected down the wire to the paravane where it met a powerful cutter blade. This cut the mine

free to float to the surface some distance from the ship, where it could be destroyed by gunfire. One paravane on each side

of a ship's bow virtually guaranteed safety against moored mines.

MINESWEEPER is a small dedicated, purpose-built naval warship designed to detect then neutralize submarine mines in advance of other naval operations. Minesweepers that first appeared during WWI were equipped with mechanical

or influence sweeps to detonate mines. The modern minesweeper is designed to reduce the chances of it detonating mines

itself; it is soundproofed to reduce its acoustic signature.

Lap Wing (AM-1) Class of Minesweepers, Bittern, Quail, Pigeon, et al, performed a variety of service tasks: towed

targets for the cruisers and destroyers of the Fleet to fire at during battle practices and gunnery shoots, assisted in

unmooring and mooring the Fleet's vessels. Many of the 49 Lapwing class were refitted for service as; ARS, Salvage Ship;

ASR, Submarine Rescue Vessel; ATO, Ocean Going Tug; AVP, Small Seaplane Tender.

8

Denver Keplinger, secretary-treasurer for the South China, Yangtze Patrol reunion

mailed a letter to the membership to announce that the SCYPAF has been disbanded.

He closed with a ballad of the “River Rats:”

I'LL MEET YOU AT THE SLOP CHUTE ON THE OLD WHANGPOO

Tune of "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"

I'll meet you at the slop chute on the old Whangpoo

Bring along your dip net; there'll be enough for two

There'll be beans and carrots and some Irish stew

I'll meet you at the slop chute on the old Whangpoo!

We should remember that romance and adventure are not alone the lot of

those who “go down to the sea in ships,” but also of those who traveled the

Yangtze in gunboats. This may be more readily understood when the nature of

their tasks is better known.

Beginning in 1854, and lasting until

1942, American warships conducted cruises

along the Yangtze River in China. Initially the

mission of these cruises was to show the

American flag and support American consular

officers. The mission became more complex

over time with the added trappings of support-

ing American foreign policy in defining our

relationship with China and later with Japan.

The regularity of these naval patrols

waxed and waned throughout the latter half of

the 19th century depending on the strength of

American mercantile and missionary interests

in China. In the early part of the 20th Century

the patrols became organized with purpose

built ships and working level cooperation with

the British Royal Navy. This mission contin-

ued right up the brink of war in 1941.

American naval forces were also en-

gaged in anti-piracy patrols and actions along

the coast of China during this period. Naval

and Marine landing parties were put ashore

several times to protect American interests. As

the stability of China began to deteriorate

markedly after 1890, the American naval pres-

ence began to increase in the Yangtze Basin

and along the coast.

In addition to the United States;

France, Italy, the German Empire, Austria-

Hungary, Russia, Japan and the United King-

dom all maintained gunboats and larger fleet

units in and around China. The United King-

dom in particular supported a large fleet in

Chinese waters, reflecting its significant eco-

nomic stakes at Hong Kong, Shanghai and

Hankow.

In 1900, the so-called Boxer Rebellion

devastated northern China. Several hundred

foreigners, mostly missionaries living in small

towns, and approximately 50,000 Chinese

Christians were murdered. For a period of 55

days the foreigners, mostly diplomats, and

commercial people, and Chinese Christians

barricaded in Peking's Legation Quarter were

besieged by a force of Boxers and Imperial

Chinese troops. The Legations were relieved

by a polyglot force of British (both British and

Indian Army), American, French (actually

mostly Vietnamese with French officers from

Indo-China), Italian, German, Russian, Japa-

nese, and Austro-Hungarian soldiers, sailors

and marines.

Following this incident the United

States Navy organized the South China Patrol

based at Hong Kong, and the Yangtze Patrol

at Shanghai and later Hankow. Many of the

earliest ships assigned were former Spanish

gunboats captured in the Philippines during

the Spanish-American War. These units

showed the American flag, fought pirates and

bandits, escorted American merchant ships

through bandit infested gorges and repre-

sented American interests in the interior of

China until the outbreak of World War II.

U S NAVY YANGTZE PATROL & SOUTH CHINA PATROL History by Phil Abbey

9

YANGTZE RIVER BASIN (Encylopedia Britannica)

(Excerpts from Navy History)

The Yangtze River, Chinese Chang Jiang,

is the largest river in China and Asia, and the third-

longest in the world. It flows about 3,915 miles from

its source in the Eastern part of the Tibetan plateau

into the East China Sea at Shanghai. The area drained

by the Yangtze and it’s more than 700 tributaries is

about 700,000 square miles, equal to 20% of China.

Pent up between vast mountain ranges as it is

for all but the last thousand of its course, sudden sig-

nificant rises in the river level due to the melting of the

Tibetan snows, the breaking of the Indian monsoons

and local rain-storms, form the main phenomena of the

river.

It was not until 1901 that steamer transporta-

tion was made possible through the treacherous

gorges, thus infuriating the junkmen who saw their

sole means of livelihood diminishing. Up to this time

the dangerous rapids, whirlpools and currents made

navigation possible only by junks. When it is consid-

ered that three round trips between Chungking and

Ichang was the entire life of the average junk, and the

long time it took to make the upstream journey, it is

realized why the freight rates were extremely high.

Large vessels can sail to Hankow (Chinese,

Wuhan), and smaller vessels can reach Ichang

(Chinese, Yichang). Riverboats, navigate above

Yichang because of the gorges between Chungking

(Chinese, Chongqing) and Yichang. Completion of the

Three Gorges Dam project, 30 miles West of Yichang,

and filling a 410 miles long deep water reservoir will

enable 1,000-ton maritime vessels to navigate 1,400

miles inland from the Port of Shanghai and the China

Sea to Chongqing.

The American patrol force consisted of seven

regular gunboats and, according to the seriousness of

the emergency, any one of four “spare” gunboats.

Each vessel carried three to four ship’s officers, one

doctor, and a crew of about 50 enlisted men. The boats

were distributed throughout the Yangtze region as

follows: At Hankow, 600 miles up the river, the regu-

lar operations base for the Luzon, flagship of the force,

besides the gunboats USS Palos, Tutuila and Oahu;

500 miles up the river was the base for the gunboat,

Panay, at Mowangtsui; at Ichang, 1,000 miles up the

Yangtze, was the gunboat Monocacy; and at Chung-

king, 1,500 miles up the river, was the gunboat, Guam.

At Nanking, 150 miles up the Yangtze, no regular pa-

trol boats operated, but in emergency cases any one of

the following seagoing gunboats was used: either the

Fulton, the Asheville, the Tulsa or the Sacramento.

The British maintained about 12 gunboats

with similar personnel and procedure as the Ameri-

cans; the Japs had about the same number; the French,

three boats, and the Italians, one.

Untold millions of dollars worth of foreign

capital was tied up in industries located in the Yangtze

region patrolled, which contained about a third of the

world’s entire population. The city of Hanyang, the

Pittsburgh of China, adjoins Hankow, but is separated

from it by the Han River and diagonally across the

Yangtze on the south bank eight miles away is

Wuchung; geographically these three cities are not

unlike Manhattan, Brooklyn and Jersey City.

From Ichang, the head of navigation for mod-

erate draft steamers, 1,000 miles up the river, and 400

miles above Hankow, the upstream port for oceango-

ing steamers, the river enters the famous Ichang

gorges a succession of dangerous rapids, whirlpools

and currents. From Ichang to Chungking, a city of

300,000, the river port of the rich province of Sze-

chwan, the distance is 358 miles. The stretch from

Ichang to Wanhsien, at the upper gorges, had more

than its share of “human interest.”

The American shallow draft gunboats, Palos

and Monocacy, not only negotiated these dangerous

waters year in and year out, but proceeded 200 miles

further upstream from Chungking to Suifu, at the con-

fluence of the Yangtze and Min Rivers, and then nego-

tiated a still further distance up the latter river for

ninety miles, to the province of Szechwan, Chengtu.

This province had a population three quarters

of that of the United States.

10

HOW STEEP WAS THE YANGTZE? The Chinese once had an expression: It is more difficult to get to Szechwan than to Heaven. That saying was a commentary on how difficult it was to go up through the gorges against the current. The difference in elevation between Ichang and Chungking is only 416 feet over 350 nautical miles, a gra-dient of 1.2 feet per mile. That doesn't seem steep, but when those differences in elevation are concentrated into a few stretches, the river becomes in those places at least a rapid and sometimes nearly a waterfall. Rear Ad-miral Yates Stirling, Jr., who was ComYang-Pat in 1928, on an upriver trip of his new command came across one rapid which he estimated to drop 9 feet in 100 feet with a 14 knot current. Captain Plant of Maritime Cus-toms described the famous Hsintan as having a six foot drop in 150 feet. In either case, that's whitewater boating!

HEAVING THE RAPIDS Old timers in the Patrol will remember that Palos and Monocacy, along with the older gunboats, sometimes had to heave the rapids by means of a wire anchored ashore which was taken to the capstan. LDCR Glenn How-ell, who commented on everything he saw in China. Describe how the small steamer Chi

Lai of the Yangtze rapid Steamship Company performed this evolution at the Hsintan when he was aboard in 1926. Our proceeding was as follows. Some three hundred coolies were waiting on the bank. We steamed up full speed into the rapid near the bank until the ship lost all headway and was not gaining an inch; then heaving lines were thrown to the beach and a wire got over to the coolies who carried it along the bank two hundred yards upstream and noosed it around a huge rock.

The wire was then led to the capstan. The coolies on shore then gave the ship the ends of two long bamboo ropes. These ends were secured to chocks in the ship and were then let out and manned along the shore ahead of us. When all was ready, every available force was called into being to get the ship over this desperate rapid. The engines steamed their maximum speed; the capstan was heaved round with the wire both by steam and by the boatswain's gang on the bars; and the scores of coolies on the bamboo ropes hauled away with a steady, long pull. Inch-by-inch, the gallant little ship was forced up against the terrific rush of current and the pull of gravity. A terrible sense of strain pervaded the atmosphere. You caught yourself all tense with your hands clenched. Then, all of a sudden, she was over, and as if released from the clutch of hidden demons the Chi Lai shot forward into the calm, still waters above the rapid. The engines were slowed to half speed and then stopped as the bamboo ropes were cast off and the wire line was “reeled in." Once above the rapid, there existed practi-cally no current and the water was as still as an inland pond. The boiler pressure, which had been exhausted down to half its usual amount due to this extraordinary effort, began mounting to its normal figure. The number one coolie came off in a sampan to the ship to collect the wages of his company—$80. We went on, and two hours later came to the Yehtan. This was another inch-by-inch struggle, and the captain was not sure whether he could make it without getting a wire to the beach. However, the steam held out and we got over all right much to the annoyance of the awaiting coolies on the beach.

11

Banditry and communism continue rife

along the Yangtze Valley where our Yangtze Patrol

and armed guards of Marines afford protection to

American citizens and their interests. The spread of

communism along South China littoral has

frequently necessitated, upon consular request, the

presence of gunboats or destroyers at South China

ports for varying periods. Their timely presence

has had a very steadying effect in these and other

seaports.

Piracy, with attacks on foreign coastwise

vessels, remains widespread in the Canton area

where our South China Patrol operates. On 18 June

1934 a destroyer and a minesweeper were ordered

to assist British naval vessels in aiding a pirated

British ship off the mouth of the Yellow River and

assist in rescuing captured foreign passengers.

The Fourth Marines, a regiment with

strength of 94 officers and 1,668 enlisted men on

30 June 1934, has been stationed at Shanghai as in

previous years.

PIRACY

Throughout history, there have been people

willing to rob others transporting goods on the

water. Thousands of pirates were active from

1650–1720. These years are sometimes known as a

'Golden Age' of piracy.

In some parts of the world, especially the South

China Seas, piracy still exists today.

What is a pirate? A pirate is a robber who travels by water. Though

most pirates targeted ships, some also launched

attacks on coastal towns.

Who were the first pirates? Pirates have existed since ancient times. They

threatened the trading routes of ancient Greece, and

seized cargoes of grain and olive oil from Roman

ships.

Pirates were sometimes known as corsairs or buccaneers.

Corsairs were pirates who operated in the Medi-terranean Sea between the 15th and 18th centuries.

Muslim corsairs, such as the daring Barbarossa

(red beard) brothers, had bases along the Barbary

coast of north Africa. They built many strong

fortresses to defend the Barbary ports of Algiers,

Tripoli and Tunis. Christian corsairs were based on

the island of Malta. Muslim and Christian corsairs

alike swooped down on their targets in swift oar-

powered boats called galleys to carry off sailors

and passengers. Unless these unfortunates were

rich enough to pay a ransom, they were sold as

slaves or put to work as oarsmen on the corsair gal-

leys.

Buccaneers, in the 17th century, lived on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and its tiny turtle-

shaped neighbor, Tortuga. At first, they lived as

hunters, and shot wild pigs with their long-

barrelled muskets. Their name came from the

special wooden huts called boucans where they

smoked their meat. (sic)

MARITIME PIRACY

According to the United Nations Convention on

the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982, consists of

any criminal acts of violence, detention, or depre-

dation committed for private ends by the crew or

the passengers of a private ship or aircraft that is

directed on the high seas against another ship, air-

craft, or against persons or property on board a ship

or aircraft. Piracy can also be committed against a

ship, aircraft, persons, or property in a place out-

side the jurisdiction of any state, in fact piracy has

been the first example of universal jurisdiction.

Nevertheless today the international community is

facing many problems to try pirates.

There are legal barriers to prosecuting individu-

als captured in international waters. Countries are

struggling to apply existing maritime law, interna-

tional law, and their own laws, which limits them

to having jurisdiction over their own citizens.

According to piracy experts, the goal is to "deter

and disrupt" pirate activity, and pirates are often

detained, interrogated, disarmed, and released.

With millions of dollars at stake, pirates have little

incentive to stop.

Prosecutions are rare for several reasons.

Modern laws against piracy are almost non-

existent. For example, the Dutch are using a 17th-

century law against "sea robbery" to prosecute.

Warships that capture pirates have no jurisdiction

to try them, and NATO does not have a detention

policy in place. Prosecutors have a hard time as-

sembling witnesses and finding translators, and

countries are reluctant to imprison pirates because

they would be saddled with them when released.

PIRACY AND OTHER VIOLATIONS OF THE RULES

(Excerpts from U. S. Navy Annual Reports & Navy)

12

THE OTHER ARMED GUARDS

Although the United States government was

insistent that only our own sailors and ma-

rines could guard American merchant ships

on the Yangtze, other countries were more

flexible. Britain used Army troops as guards,

and in 1931 the British-flag Butterfield &

Swire ships had Chinese armed guards. On

occasion, Chinese gunboats guarded Ameri-

can merchant ship in trouble, and there were

cases when Chinese bandit troops were given

money to guard a ship, which was cheaper

than letting them loot it, but the diplomatic

authorities took a dim view of that approach

to security.

In June, 1923, Monocacy was sent to Yang-

tochi, about 120 miles below Chungking, to

see what could be done about retrieving four

junks that had fallen into the hands of pirates.

These kerosene-

laden vessels of

Standard Oil were

apparently not

owned by the

company, but

were chartered.

For some reason

that is not clear,

the gunboat 's

skipper, LCDR J.

L . N i e l s o n ,

stopped at Fengtu,

about 20 miles

away, and picked

up a number of

Chinese soldiers belonging to the army of

Wu Pei-Fu, one of the strongest of the war-

lords in central China. With these troops

aboard, Nielson then shelled the bandit vil-

lage at Yangtochi with four explosive shells

from the main battery of the gunboat, a six-

pounder. Four bandits were killed in the

attack, and the junks were quickly recovered

with the help of the Chinese troops aboard

Monocacy.

The commander of the Yangtze patrol, Rear

Admiral W. W. Phelps, while pleased with

the accurate gunnery of the gunboat, quickly

realized that he had an embarrassing flap on

his hands. Gunboats were supposed to use a

minimum of force, were to place a much

higher value on saving American lives than

property, and were not to get involved in Chi-

nese military matters by carrying troops. Yet,

Monocacy had used her main battery against

no resistance, there were no American sea-

men on the junks, and Chinese troops had

been aboard the gunboat during the expedi-

tion.

So, to counter possible criticism, Admiral

Phelps convened an inquiry, at which the

Navy went to great lengths to justify what

happened. Citing international law on the

subject of piracy, as well as stressing what a

scourge piracy had been to civilized nations

through the centuries and how drastic meas-

ures had always been authorized to combat

this practice, the admiral's staff made a strong

case defending the action taken by Nielson in

picking up the Chinese troops to assist in the

attack on the pirates. Even the commission

issued by Congress to Commodore David

Porter in 1823, sending him to the Caribbean

to suppress pirates, was cited as precedent for

the action at Yangtochi, which Phelps called

an "extremely close analogy" to that of 100

years earlier. The admiral signed the staff re-

port, not only justifying but even commend-

ing LCDR Nielson's action, thus announcing

to the world that the Navy in China didn't al-

ways adhere to its own rules of engagement

in actions against pirates.

Only rarely did the Yangtze Patrol

Contend with war lord Wu Pei-Fu

13

Fighting Chinese Pirates (Excerpts from JOHN CLOVELLY letter)

While riding through an almost end-less succession of dangerous rapids, whirl-pools and currents in the Yangtze River, about 160 miles above Hankow, a merchant vessel operated by an American, named Captain Baker, suddenly went aground. It was night-time and a stone’s throw away could be dimly seen the craggy outlines of the shore. Nine times out of ten such an accident results in a bandit attack in this remote sec-tion of China. But hardly had the American given the order to his Chinese crew to arm themselves when things began to happen. Not a single warning sound was heard and yet, within five minutes’ time, every coolie had been disarmed and bound by as villainous a gang of cutthroats as Baker had ever seen. Armed with sawed-off shotguns and wearing filthy rags, they looked as if they would com-mit murder for a dollar. However, their leader calmly announced that he would release the American upon receipt of two million dol-lars! Of course he did not make good on this fantastic demand, but his thugs seized Baker’s boat containing perhaps $10,000 worth of cargo, and kept him prisoner for three months. At which time, thanks to friends, Baker raised a couple of thousand dollars and was freed. The hatred of the junkmen for the steamer companies thus engendered is mainly responsible for the reign of piracy in the Yangtze region, and no opportunity is lost by the junkmen to bedevil the companies, set fire to the steamers, intimidate the pilots, boycott the exporters, kidnap the passengers and finally, for the renegade snipers stationed on the banks, to pick off the pilot, thereby wrecking the ship. Again and again the Yankee tars, comprising the crews of the seven gunboats which patrol the Yangtze for Uncle Sam, are

called upon to engage in hand-to-hand com-bat with the ferocious river pirates. A striking instance of this sort took place some months ago when the gunboat Palos, assisted by the British gunboat, Aphis and the Yankee gun-boat, Guam, was responsible for saving an entire town, with industries and property val-ued at over $2,000,000, from what otherwise would have been certain destruction. The trouble started early one month when the Guam, cruising past Yochow, some 130 miles above Hankow, along the Yangtze at the junction of the Yangtze and Siang Riv-ers, was suddenly fired upon by bandits from the shore. Later that same month the bandits, thought to be communists, captured the city of Changsha. It so happened that the Palos was cruising nearby, besides the British gun-boat, Aphis, and the Italian gunboat, Eermanno Carlotto.

These vessels evacuated all the for-eigners living in the town and then the Palos moved down the river just below the town to get out of firing range. A couple of days later, the Palos, on an inspection tour, cruised past the town. Then the fun began. An indetermin-able number of pirates opened fire on them, finally being put to utter rout, fleeing, no doubt, deep into the hinterland. At any rate, the prompt action and vigilance of the Palos saved the city.

THE HAZARDS OF PATROL DUTY

The troubles of 1926-27 on the middle and lower river produced a lot of shooting at Ameri-can ships by well-entrenched troops ashore. Some of these encounters were genuine battles with artillery and machine gun fire ashore contending with main battery and machine gun fire from the ships, resulting in a few American casualties---but no deaths. In the 37 specific incidents were only 9 men wounded: 3 in Pigeon, 1 in Preble, and 5 in Penguin, a remarkable record. During this era only one death occurred on the gunboats via gunfire in 1930 aboard Guam near Yochow.

14

The Yangtze (Chinese Chang) River

empties a great quantity of soil into the China

Sea. The magnitude can be appreciated when

you visualize that about forty miles at sea from

the river mouth, the blue sea water becomes

yellow. From the mouth of the Yangtze it is 40

miles to Wosong where the Whangpoo

(Chinese Huangpu) river empties into the

Yangtze and 14 miles up the Huangpu to

Shanghai.

The Huangpu‘s color and speed of the

current varies according to the season. A swift

undertow with treacherous whirlpools some-

times lies hidden below a placid surface.

Soochow (Chinese Suzhou) Creek

(also called Wusong River), one of the princi-pal outlets of Tai Lake, passes through the

Shanghai city centre, has a length of 78 miles,

of which 34 miles are within the administrative

region of Shanghai and 15 miles within the

city's highly urbanized parts. It flows into the

Huangpu at the northern end of the Bund in

Hauanpu district.

The Bund (which means the Embankment)

extends for 1 mile along the western edge of

the Huangpu River from Jinling Road in the

South to the Waibaidu Bridge over the Suzhou

Creek in the north, On the west side of the

main avenue (Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu) that

runs along the

Bund are the

colonial edi-

fices of yore.

In 1993, during

the widening of

Zhongshan Lu,

the Signal

Tower that

served as a

control tower

for river traffic

during colonial days was moved 65 feet to its

current site.

Along the eastern side of the Huangpu

is the Bund Promenade, a raised embankment . that acts as a dike against the Huangpu River,

because downtown itself, situated on a soggy

delta, is slowly sinking below the river level.

Atop it is a spacious walkway for sightseeing..

Paved with colorful tiles and dotted with

flower beds and European-style garden lights.

It is a good place for a leisurely stroll and a

view of the Huangpu River.

The Port of Shanghai is China's major trans-

portation hub. At high tide, oceangoing vessels

can sail up the river to the city.

In the 1950s, the harbor was divided into spe-

cialized sections for storing bulk commodities,

maintaining transportation, general cargo

wharves, small-craft terminals and cargo-

handling, and passenger and freight terminals.

Since relations with the Soviet Union cooled

after 1960, the Port of Shanghai is now second

largest in the world.

The Suzhou Creek cleanup project is to be

completed by 2010; hopefully, the river will

once again be clean enough to encourage

marine life back to the Bund area.

WHERE WILL THE SLOP CHUTE BE?

SHANGHAI TODAY (Excerpts from Chinese tourist information)

15

CHINESE PILOTS

Chinese pilots on the Yangtze often came in

for considerable criticism for their excitability,

their opium smoking, and their limited knowl-

edge of steam vessels. Furthermore, most of

them knew no English, so helm orders were

given with a flick of the finger or thumb. Only

rarely did they receive the kind of praise that

was forthcoming from Holloway H. Frost, the

skipper of a destroyer after a trip on the lower

river in the 1920s. The laid-back pilot for this

trip had a different approach. Said Frost, "I

never realized how good a helmsman could be

until a Chinese pilot steered The John D. Ford

from Nanking to Shanghai for ten straight

hours, eating his meals, smoking cigarettes,

walking about the bridge, and finally sitting

easily on a high stool at the wheel. When that

fellow moved the wheel a spoke, it was an

event. He wasn't a helmsman, but a magician.

He had some sort of spell over our little ship."

GUNBOATS AND POLICEMEN

A simple yet profound observation about the Navy

on the Yangtze was made by Marine Corporal E.

G. Grosskopf, who was in charge of a small armed

guard detanF'rent on the steamer I'Ping in 1928.

With that ship and two others in convoy were com-

mandeered by the troops of the warlord Yang Sen,

it was necessary to send a radio message to Guam

(PR-3)for help. As Grosskopf noted in his diary,

"These gunboats are like policemen-never around

when they are needed."

LINCOLN HECTOR REMEMBERS

U.S.S Augusta (CA-31), SOPA (Senior Officer

Present Afloat) Chefoo, ordered the uniform of the

day to include white socks, Captain King Bode,

U.S.S. Black Hawk (AD-9) ordered black socks.

Hawk sailors would take a pair of white socks

and change on the way to the dock as we had to

wear white socks to leave the dock and then change

to black socks before we could return aboard Black

Hawk.

NOT GUILITY WITH HONOR

Shore Patrol duty in Japanese

occupied Tsingtao was far from

Jim Shaw’s favorite to spend a

weekend. It had to be done so he

strapped the SP band around his

upper left arm, mounted his

trusty bicycle and started a tour

of the seamy bar district. It was-

n’t long before trouble arose. Two Japanese

soldiers on mopeds started charging a pair of

young Yank sailors who were valiantly trying

to stay out of the Japs way—to no avail.

Jim headed for them but just then two burly

Boilermakers emerged from an adjacent bar.

The next charge the two Japs got off the

mopeds heading on foot for the two young-

sters. At that point one of the Boilermakers

stepped in grabbing the two Japs by the neck,

he knocked their heads together. As they fell to

the ground more Japs arrived and so did Jim.

After much gesticulating and shouting Jim was

able to take the “head knocker” into custody

and ordered the other three back to the ship.

He lodged a complaint with the local garrison

Commander against the Moped harassers and

returned to the ship with his prisoner who

stood trial for causing a disturbance.

The court found the Boilermaker “Not guilty,

with honor.”

The ships Captain sent a message ashore to

the Garrison Commander, which read:

“We have court-martialed our man, what

have you done with your two?”

Jim said, “That was one Shore Patrol foray I

thoroughly enjoyed.”

LtJg Jim Shaw

16

THE ASIATIC FLEET REVIEW. SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER. 1937

CHEFOO HAILED AS UNIQUE BASE Writer Discovers Many Points Of Resemblance Between Shanghai And Chefoo Night Life Worlds; Summer Capital Of Desron Five Thrives As Home Of 3,000 Navyites; Harry Ross Acclaimed As

Outstanding Figure Of Port's Cabaret Operators.

By Max Chaichek, “Asiatic Fleet review” Special Writer (Excerpts from)

F RONTED by rocky beaches, with mountain

ranges as background and the heart of the port

dotted with a sea of white uniforms of the foreign

naval forces flitting unendingly from barroom to

cabaret to boarding houses and back to sleek

grey-hounds of the ocean. That's Chefoo in the good

old summer time.

Naval base for part of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet

and port of relaxa-tion for the British and the French

navies, Chefoo is a thriving little metropolis in the

hotter months of the year, when the catering to the

night life and entertainment of the navy supersedes

its well-established and rich industries such as lace,

embroidery and hairnets.

Asleep for practically seven months of the

year, Chefoo buzzes with activity between May and

October as the naval forces gather there for their ma-

neuvers. Hundreds have become dependent on the

officers and the men. And though the period is

short they make hay while the sun shines. and fill

their coffers sufficiently to last them throughout the

year. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy"

holds very true of the navy, no matter what its na-

tion-ality and this sure helps the old cash register.

Navy’s Summer Capital

D estroyer Squadron Five of the American

Asiatic Fleet makes Chefoo its head-

quarters every summer. While vessels of the

British and French Fleets are familiar sights at

various periods during the sum-mer, their visits are

primarily for the purpose of providing their men

with a few weeks of well- earned relaxation from a

constant grind of strenuous duties. This is espe-

cially true of the British Fleet, which is stationed

only a few hours away at Weihaiwei, which still is

without cabarets and barrooms, although there is a

canteen for the tars.

Chefoo, to the American FOB, isn't quite a minia-

ture naval base such as can be found in the United

States, but nevertheless about every trick in the art of

entertainment such as he enjoys is offered in Chefoo

and on a scale of sur-prisingly large proportions. There are two striking features which immediately

impress the Chefoo visitor, They are the wide-open amusements, and the hordes of roving dogs of every size, shape and color of the "wonk" breed. After one gets over the surprise of seeing so many bars, cabarets, boarding houses and hotels catering to only 3,000 regular naval patrons, one wonders how it is possible that the city is not constantly suffering from a rabies scare because of the hund-reds of dogs which roam every road and alley day and night.

Shanghai Faces Plentiful

Y ear after year these retired Navy men come

to Chefoo. The season over, some remain to

do a bit of shooting, although the ma-jority return to

Shanghai and retire for the winter. Cabaret girls,

with the Russian element predominant, also flock into

Che-foo during the summer from Shanghai, al-

though some drift in from Tientsin and even from

Harbin . But a visi tor f rom Shanghai soon finds

himself quite at home in any of the better cabarets,

in which he sees a large number of Shanghai caba-

ret queens and musicians.

It is something of a surprise to discover former band

leaders of the Shanghai night club world working

as mere members of a Chefoo orchestra. And it

is just as much of a shock to see sun-tanned girls

associated with leading cabarets in Shanghai. such

as Del Monte and Casanova, ever so sedate and re-

strained in the Paris of the Orient, here in Chefoo

prancing with the sobs in the accepted style of the

U.S. Navy

Night Life Starts Early

Night l i fe in Chefoo star ts early. In fact, it is

still day-time when it first starts. This unusual

situation is necessary. The gobs come ashore at 4.30

p.m. and have to be off the streets by 11.30 p.m. The

Chiefs are a lowed to remain in night spots until

mid-night, although little is said it the married ones stay

as long as they please. It is after 11.30 p.m. that the

officers usually come into their own, and two or three of

the better known spots, now featuring night clubs for

the first time in the his-tory of Chefoo, are natu-

rally receiving all the gravy of the trade which is

greatly sought. The officers are heavy spenders and so

are more than welcome in every night spot

17

T he War has shot Chefoo pretty well to pieces as far as the 1937 season is concerned.

The outbreak of hostilities at Shanghai on August 13th, at a time when Chefoo was all set for the sea-son, ruined about everything for everybody at Des-ron Five's summer headquarters. Most the destroy-ers received hurry-up orders to get under way for Shanghai and for other ports, while the auxiliaries were moved out and based on Shanghai along with the AUGUSTA. Thus, at one time, there remained in Chefoo only the BLACK HAWK and two of her brood of cans.

Latest dope from Chefoo is that the HAWK and the five destroyers with her, the POPE , PERRY, PILLSBURY, PAUL JONES and JOHN D. FORD, are to remain at their summer base until around No-vember 5th, when they are to start their trek south after seeing to it that the remaining Americans there are evacuated to Shanghai, Manila or all the way back to the U.S.A. There's scuttlebutt dope, too, that at least a part of the foreign population, other than American, accompanying the fleet on its an-nual cruise to North China, is to be given a break should evacuation facilities permit and will be con-veyed to Shanghai or such other points as may be on their itinerary.

Outside The Mole

T he BLACK HAWK and the five destroyers mentioned now are stationed outside the mole at

Chefoo, having moved there at the beginning of Octo-ber upon receipt of intimation from the Chinese authorities that destruction of this breakwater would be carried out should military circumstances, such as attack by the Japanese, make it necessary or advis-able.. The Chinese gave assurances that when and if dynamiting were resorted to, adequate notice would be given the American ships to enable them to move well out of any possible danger. The C-in-C, it seems, decided to take no chances in view of the uncertain situation and so the HAWK was moved quite some distance outside the breakwater while the five destroyers also tied-up together between their mother-ship and the mole.

This way it's quite a long ride in an open boat and the result has been that the liberty parties coming ashore at Chefoo during October have been noticea-bly smaller, another factor contributing to the hard times thrust upon Chefoo and her population, both sum-mer and permanent, as a result of the 1937 war .

Tough Times on Beach

A n accurate picture of the hardships inflicted upon both Navy folks and the people who cater to

them at Chefoo each summer was painted to this writer

by "Jimmy" James, diminutive big shot of the Shang-hai and North China restaurant and cabaret worlds, who returned to this city recently on a business trip preparatory to re-visiting Chefoo once more to bring the 1937 season there to a none-too-happy close. With characteristic courage and fortitude, "Jimmy" isn't crying in his beer, not because he doesn't touch the soapy suds, but because that's the way this young fellow from Jackson, Minn., i s b u i l t .

The Shanghai crisis burst- at a time when everything was going first-rate at Chefoo. The-annual weeding out process had been gone through and the Navy had picked its favorite haunts for the summer when the bubble burst. The radio brought the tidings each after-noon and evening to supplement the brief dispatches which reached the beach via Navy news sources and it quickly became apparent that the Shanghai folk were marooned for the summer even if they wanted to get bark to Shanghai.

The departure first of one and then of other ships combined with the tightening up of liberty privileges hit the beach hard and quickly. A number of bars and cabarets commenced folding up, their number being augmented when quite a few Americans, both employers and employees, decided to avail themselves of the evacuation facilities provided, at cost, by the Navy and to scram for Shanghai, Manila or Japan, in the last case to catch homebound steamers which have been giving Shanghai a wide berth since the bombing of the Dollar liner President Hoover at the end of August. Quite a few Filipinos trailed along, for all realized that their jobs in Shanghai cafes or cabarets were being shot to pieces by wartime curfew and business conditions.

75% Drop In Turnover.

Just how severely the beach at Chefoo was hit by the war is best revealed by figures of turnover. Many a prospering establishment whose- daily take, for instance, was around $600 soon found its cash registers chalking up a mere $100 to $150 per day. And on bad days, the turnover would slump as low as $60 or $70, a decline in trade of from 75'% to 90. A helpful factor for those who remained was that those who evacuated whittled down competition, although in several cases the cabaret operators who folded left their employees, girls and others, stranded.

*******

“Success is never final. Failure

is never fatal.

It’s courage that counts.”

Vince Lombardi

18

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contact: Christine.lashley@hyatt.com, 703.653.6024, or Ray Kester 703-451-2520, raykstr@verizon.net

Keyword: USNAF Reunion HYATT FAIRLAKES Thursday 8/27–Monday 8/31/2009 12777 FAIRLAKES CIR Room Rate: $89.00 + taxes, $ 97.01 (one, two, three or four persons) FAIRFAX VA 22033-4903 Sales tax, 9%, Occupancy tax 0% Tel: 703-818-1234; Fax: 703-653-6109 Rate available 3-days before and after the reunion: based on availability Reservations, any time: 703-818-1234, 1-800-233-1234 or www. Fairlakes.hyatt.com

� Check-in time: 3:00 p.m. Check out, by 12:p.m. Late check out request cannot be assured � A credit card imprint or a $50 cash deposit may be required for incidental charges � If your plans change, you must cancel by 4 p.m. on the day before the scheduled day of arrival. If you fail to

cancel, your credit card will be charged one room night plus tax, or forfeit your deposit.

Note 1: Complimentary scheduled transportation to and from Dulles Airport (IAD).

� Proceed from baggage ramp and outside to the Arrivals Level curbside to meet the Hyatt Fairlakes shuttle scheduled every other hour on the hour for days of arrival and departure.

� If needed, the telephone number of the Preet Sedan & Limo service is 1-800-841-8123. Reagan National Airport (DCA) guests may take a Metro Blue Line train to the Rosslyn Metro station and transfer to an Orange Line train to the Vienna-Fairfax/GMU Metro station, (standard fare is $4.35). Each person must purchase a stored value fare-card. Metro attendants will assist. Call 1-800-841-8123 for pick-up at the Vienna-Fairfax/GMU Metro Station. Alternative is SuperShuttle. Ticket counters are on the Ground Transportation Level of the Main Terminal. Shared Ride Van Service $28.00 plus $10.00 each additional—reservation not needed.

Please note: The U.S. Capitol building tours are free; however tour passes are required (Passes will be requested from Virginia congressman by reunion planner). Tours of the Capitol building are offered Monday through Saturday, 8:45 a.m. – 4:15 p.m. The Capitol Visitor Center is usually less crowded on weekday mornings, right after opening at 9:00 a.m. Tours of the Capitol last approximately one hour begin with a 13-minute orientation film. The Exhibition Hall, restaurant, gift shops and other amenities are available at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center The White House public tours are scheduled Tuesday through Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for groups of 10 or more people. Requests must be submitted through one's Member of Congress and are accepted up to six months in advance. Note: passes will be requested from Virginia congressman by reunion planner.

All guests 14 years of age or older are required by the United States Secret Service to submit their name, date of birth, social security number and country of citizenship to the requesting office. Attendees under the age of 14 only need to submit their name and date of birth. This security information must be received by the office through which tickets are obtained no later than five business days prior to the tour date. Groups without security information will be cancelled.

All guests 15 years of age or older will be required to present photo identification with information exactly matching the name previously submitted for clearance. Individuals whose identification does not exactly match the name or data cleared for entry may be denied.

Plan of the Day is not included because there was a separate reunion announcement. Changes and/or additional reunion information will be mailed to registered attendees in July.

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U.S. ASIATIC FLEET 2009U.S. ASIATIC FLEET 2009U.S. ASIATIC FLEET 2009U.S. ASIATIC FLEET 2009 REUNIONREUNIONREUNIONREUNION

REGISTRATION

� Prices include admission, taxes and gratuity, when applicable.

Registration Fee: hospitality & insurance; banquet only, no fee $40 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Friday, August 28th WWII, Navy Memorial, lunch & Navy Museum Tour $55 p/p ___ Persons = $ ______

Saturday, August 29th (Select one tour ) White House and Capitol tour (Passes required). Lunch on your own $40 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Mount Vernon Estate w/lunch and Marine Corp Museum $55 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Arlington Cemetery with drop-off pick up at locations TBD $45 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Bus and Tourmobile Military History and Landmark Tour $60 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Sunday, August 30th (Select one tour) The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. Lunch and IMAX on your own $35 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Bus with drop-off pick-up at locations TBD $35 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Dinner: beef ____, chkn ____, fish ____, dietary ____ $45 p/p ___ persons = $ ______

Please note your special needs

Membership: LIFE, $30 _____ Donation _____ used for mailing, and reunion start up $ ______ Please Mail this form and Check payable: USAFR before June 5, 2009 check # ______ Total $ ______

Ray D. Kester or Charles W. Ankerberg.

President, secretary Treasurer 6128 SHERBORN LN 4114 NARVAREZ WAY S SPRINGFIELD VA 22152-1630 ST PETERSBURG FL 33773-4037 Tel/Fax: 703-451-2520; raykstr@verizon.net Tel: 727-867-3891

Hotel reservation made Yes____ No ____ Do you plan participation in future reunions Yes____ No ____ Keep me on the shipmate mailing list Yes____ No ____ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Needed to schedule pickup at airport and reception:

Arriving: Date ________ ; Air ____ ; FLT # ________ ; ETA ______ ; Auto __; AMTRAK ___ ; Bus ___

Emergency contact; address corrections, reverse side Name Badge(s) to read: (Address list name & ship will be used if no entry) Name ________________________________

Address ________________________________

City/State/Zip ________________________________

Telephone ________________________________

E-mail: ________________________________ Hospitality room needs, and/or comments on the reverse side

RAY D. KESTER

USAFR

6128 SHERBORN LN

SPRINGFIELD VA 22152-1630