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2 September 1945
There are many people who will be interested in my reactions to the very stirring events of this summer — members of the family and friends to whom I would like to write in detail; but the vast size of the THIRD Fleet, the complexity of the operations, the utterly new character of the occupation problems, all make it virtually impossible to do any justice to my personal correspondence. And yet I feel that I should not let these impressions go unrecorded — they should be jotted down while fresh.
So I have decided on a somewhat unorthodox method of recording impressions while they are hot, and so to fulfill my natural inclination to write at length to those who might be interested. The scheme is simole: I am merely going to jot down notes on events as they occur, write them up, and then mimeograph and send them around. If anyone thinks that this is inexcusably lazy, or too impersonal, they can tear it up and go to hell*
The events between 28 May and 15 August happened so raoidly, and covered such a vast range, that in retrospect that period is somewhat of a kaleidoscope. The outstanding features are the extrication of the carrier forces from their defensive role around Okinawa, the slaughter of shipping and facilities in the Hokkaido-North Honshu area, the savage but futile attack on the NAGATO moored at Yokosuka and heavily defended by shore AA; the assimilation of the British carrier task force into the scheme of operations; the final destruction of the last of the Japanese Navy at Kure on 24-25-28 July; the magnificent ferreting out and destruction of concealed and dispersed aircraft by the carrier planes of Task Force 38; and the bombardments throughout the length of the Empire by the surface forces.
The shocking news of the atomic bomb and the entry of the Russians undoubtedly broke the camel’s back, but the camel’s belly was dragging on the ground before those climactic events, and the tremendous sustained attacks by the fleet, literally within sight of Japan, played a vital part in bringing about the Japanese peace overtures which antedated the surprise of the atomic bomb.
The sudden capitulation of the Nips threw an extraordinary problem into our laps; from a powerful mobile striking force, and while still operating at sea, we had to organize all of the elements for the occupation of the naval control zones in the Tokyo area. It involved extensive transfers of Marine and bluejacket landing force components at sea, assembling all manner of accessory components in a vast miscellaneous group of ships, and a complete reorganization of the entire setup -all accomplished while at sea.
coinplicate matters, many of our assumptions and preliminary cisions had been predicated on guesses as to what would be desired by ^iral Nimitz and General MacArthur — and there was also the little ®8-tter of a series of typhoons developing suddenly and behaving radically. f0r onoe> the Divine Wind worked in reverse and raised hell with the en- err>y. One typhoon went in over Tokyo, a pair of typhoons struck the Kure !r9a’ 811(3 still another struck Hongkong. They all suddenly diverted from tar°^S threatened the fleet and then went straight on to their Empire
gets there was something symbolic about the w'hole thing.
_ On 27 August the initial occupation force proceeded toward HATu^ ^&n* headed by the MISSOURI. At about 0715 the Japanese destroyer - '-ZAKURa v;as sighted — a pitiful sight compared to the powerful ap- HlCHn^ag; allied forces. The Japanese delegation was transferred to the 1 ' kAS which looked like a veritable cruiser alongside the little Nip
Qstroyer. The NICHOLAS further transferred the Japanese representatives la the MISSOURI'S famous red chair to the MISSOURI. Captain TAKASAKI ° the Yokosuka command and Captain OTANI from Naval Hpadauarters, Tokyo, b Sether with an interpreter, all relieved of their side arms, were d^ht to the Captain’s Cabin, presented to me, and were ordered to sit Qx a a't the conference table. There were no pleasantries or amenities ^changed, the atmosphere throughout being strictly cold and formal with to'TT ?hase 011,5 gesture intended to inpress -■upon them that they were ally defeated, were in no bargaining position, and were strictly tak- 1QS orders. ~
j0r Oscar Eadger, as the prospective commander of the occupation
rces, was present as were also the key officers on Commander THIRD ne«t’s staff.
Pq-j. . ^ 10<3 off "the proceedings by announcing Commander THIRD Fleet's
for10183’ 0UtlininS fche time schedule of events up to the time of the v. .ma-l surrender and issuing Commander THIRD Fleet’s General Order #1 ‘ ^°h set forth certain general policies for their guidance and compli- at the Yokosuka Naval Air Station and Naval Station and thereafter, ahd&f ®&dger, laid down the detailed requirements for the landing forces * furnished the Nips with an additional list of information which they re to bring out.
t Captain OTANI from Tokyo gave the appearance of all that is
g ea°herous and hated in the Japanese people; TAKASAKI looked more like Q^gs Bunny than anything else and we all thoroughly expected him to break a carrot, address me as "Doc" and inquire as to "What's cookin'".
_ s phsign interpreter spoke cultured English with a fully American accent did not get his educational background but my guess is that he was j l9f"e trained in the United States. Commander Gil Slonim, our Japanese anguage officer, vain^d a distinct impression that this young Ensisrn was kt.np to the Captain's in a manner which was not commensurate with the screuancies in rank, and he may well have been connected with the royal amiiy in some way.
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The meeting v;as fully covered by movies, photographs, etc.
The first piece of business ras obtaining the necessary information concerning the entry into Sagami Wan end as soon as that was accomplished the fleet stood towards its anchorage and by the middle of the afternoon all of the initial comnonenss were anchored off the very lovely Kamakura shore — the Jananese Piviera and location o*^ the Summer Palace — and the Nips were sent about their business.
At sunset a strange thing happened. The setting sun appeared to descend squarely into the crater of Fujiyama — the spectacle had such symbolism that we endeavored to get photographs of it because it clearly told the story of Japan's fate.
Minesweepers got busy at once and on the following day — the 28th, Oscar Eadger took his temporary Flagship, the SAN BIEGO, and some assorted destroyers, APD1 s, seaplane tenders, etc., into Tokyo Harbor and anchored off Yokosuka where he completed the necessary arrangements for the actual occupation. That night, in the fleet anchorage all of the ships showed anchor lights and presented a great spectacle; however, the peacetime atmosphere was not entirely ingenuous as destroyer oickets and small picket boats maintained a close watch on the situation around the anchorage and adequate guns were manned at all times to scotch any ideas any fanatic Nio might have.
Doug Moulton and Harold Stassen flew to Atsugi and met General MacArthur's advanced survey party for the exchange of information and clans. They said it was a very strange feeling to be completely surrounded by servile and polite Nips. One rather amusing incident came to light which might have repercussions from a publicity standpoint; some young YCRKTOWN pilot, apparently during one of the recent surveillance flights had dropped in on an Atsugi field and left a sign conveying the welcome of the THIF.D Fleet to the II. S. Army.
On the 29th the MISSOURI, IOWA, SOUTH DAKOTA, EENEVOLSNCE and SAN JUAN stood into their anchorages at Tokyo Bay, thus making Admiral Halsey the first senior commander on the spot in Japan. Incidentally, the fleet entered Sagami Wan 24 hours ahead of the Supreme Commander's schedule, but it was a matter of necessity in view of the large number of transient landing force personnel embarked on the small fry and also due to the necessity for doing an unexpected sweeping job.
The POW situation produced a rather strange state of affairs; evacuation of POW s had been taken over as the function of the Supreme Commander but the carrier surveillance flights at tree-ton height and with cameras, had brought out a tremendous amount of detailed information concerning the location of camps, number of prisoners and conditions of health, etc. The Navy's initial offer to start something in this connection had not been approved; General MacArthur thought that unilateral action by the Navy would be undesirable; however, the vast resources of
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An Imperial Japanese naval officer carrying his own charts and a frisking for concealed weapons were hints that the meeting between Admiral Carney (baseball cap) and the Japanese delegation would not be congenial. As “Bull” Halsey’s Chief of Staff, “Mick” Carney personified the point that, although Americans are a forgive- and-forget people, the Pacific War would not soon be forgiven and perhaps never forgotten.
the fleet hospital shins, evacuation vessels, food, clothing, etc., were actually ready whereas it would he days before the Array would have the physical facilities necessary for the job. Consecuently, we again urged that the Navy be permitted to at least initiate action around the ’waterfront in order that they "'ight not be delayed merely for the sake of an inter-service agreement made before actual conditions were known. Of this, more later. We had set up a very thorough organization for handling P0Yf s with Conmodore Simoson in command of the organization, and Harold Stassen assigned as his Chief Staff Officer; they did a magnificent job of organizing for any contingency, and it will be incredible if the Navy’s setup is restrained for any artificial reason.
Roger Simpson sent us a ”silly signal" to which we replied "Roger to Roger Simoson of Simpson Harbor. If it had not been for that Roger in Simpson Harbor we might have been delayed in sending Roger to Roger Simpson in this harbor". (Roger Simpson made the first destructive destroyer raid against Simpson Harbor in Rabaul).
Having received proper authorization from Admiral Nimitz,
Roger Simpson was given a green light at 1300 on the 29th and then began one of the dramatic incidents of the entire campaign. With the SAN JUAN and two APD* s (the GCSSELIN and REEVES), and E5NEU3LENC3, Simpson started up toward Tokyo and the A 'OPI ROW Camp. The landing craft from the APD's were niloted in by carrier nlanes and when the prisoners realized wrhat was happening, indescribable and pitiful scenes of enthusiasm and excitement took place — men even jumped into the water and started swimming out to the boats. I will not go into great detail of this story for it has all been adequately written up by the press. Suffice it to say that Simpson, Stassen, and Boone did a magnificent job — without regard to their own safety they waded into the situation, bluffed the Japanese camp ruards and gave them a complete brushoff. Joel Boone made his way to a Japanese hospital (XAWA.GAHI) three miles away, and singlehanded took over the situation, telling the Nips that he didn't give a godam what their orders were, he had orders from /admiral Halsey and was carrying them out. They found the camp conditions unspeakable with every evidence of brutality and wretched tratment. What our people found there will counteract the Nips' nresent ingratiating attitude.
The work went on all night and some seven hundred prisoners were processed through the BENEVOLENCE, the desparately sick being hospitalized, and the ambulatory cases moved to the APD's. On the following day the work continued and by the evening of the 30th about one thousand PCW s had been freed. Joel Boone came tack in the forenoon of the 30th with a marvelous and very emotional story, and I turned him over to the war correspondents with instructions not to cull his ounches.
At this writing God knows where Roger Simpson is — and that is why he was originally given the job; all we know is that he and Harold Stassen are still taking charge of the Tokyo area. They may be doing wrong, but the payoff will be a big bag of free men released from the
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1983
® utches of these despicable little bastards (I would like to note here at the Japanese Navy has earnestly disclaimed any connection writh PDW camps and want us to clearly understand that the Japanese Army must answer
At 0600 the 30th, the Marines and some of the British landing °rce kit the batteries at Futtsu Saki, across the channel from Yokosuka; ®y encountered no opposition and ouickly reported the enemy batteries secured. I joined Badger in the SAN DIEGO about 8 o’clock and witnessed * e waves of the landing force going in and the landing of the first anes on Yokosuka airfield; the olanes were supoosed to land as the first touched the beach and they timed it perfectly. At 0830, the APD went alongside the NAGAT0 which was moored at a buoy, struck the panose flag, hoisted the stars and stripes and the senior naval officer Sported to Admiral Badger that he had seized the NAGATO. Eadger gave
•"Urn a "well done", and told him to hold field day.
y At 1030 the SAN DIE0C moored at the NAGATO' s old berth at
°kosuka and at 1100 I received the surrender of the Yokosuka Naval Zone
rom Vice Admiral Totsuka on th“ deck alongside of the SAN DIEGO; Admiral ctsuka gave me an official document transferrins the area to A.dmiral q lseY’s command, and after giving him certain detailed instructions,
^scar Badger and I proceeded to the Administration Building; Admiral to suka.Was brought in and from there on was turned over to Oscar Badger receive detailed instructions in connection with the occupation of the Naval Zone.
tu 1 took a Quick look at the Administration Building and decided
cL, ^ y'as an excellent headouarters and gave instructions for its oc- ’Qation by Commander THIRD Fleet and his staff about the third or fourth D1 September.
The Americans present at the local surrender were in strange B ktrast to the Japa nese, both in stature and garb; our Marines were in ^attle dress and the two senior American dignitaries, if you could call ^ such — Oscar and myself — were in the customary khaki shirt without e> visored baseball cap, and pistols, while the Nips were tricked out sh'their nntidy drab uniform with ribbons and aiguillettes and dirty lrts- Swords were not worn by the Nips at the surrender, this being matter of common sense, but also as a symbol of wiping out their iamurai tradition.
go1
is over and, writh the exception of a few
A hasty impression of the situation indicates that the whole apanese military structure is a hollow- shell, short of eouioment, ^retchedly organized, and lacking in proper communications and transport. . firjnly believe that the Tckyo area would have been a soft touch for -Evasion as *’ar as successful operation by a mobile Japanese field ar% was concerned. Furthermore, I got the distinct impression that the &0°rity of them are glad i1
stiff-necks, there is little sign of even resentment (not that I would turn my back on them, individually or nationally, for one second).
On my way back to the MISSOURI I circled the NAGATO; she is floating at about normal draft and although her topsides are badly battered from our carrier plane attacks, her hull and turrets appear to be intact — a very pregnant commentary on the futility of bombing heavily armored ships. Torpedoes will do it, but not bombs.
And now the occupation of the Yokosuka Zone is proceeding smoothly. Scrappy Kessing will eventually take over the shore activities so the old South Pacific routine will be followed.
Admiral Nimitz arrived by seaplane on the 29th and Kelley Turner came in by seaplane on the 30th, bringing with him Charlie Lockwood and Roy Geiger. Eichelberger landed at Atsugi at noon today and MacArthur was expected at Atsugi about 1500. CinCP&c sent General Man- dell to meet the Supreme Commander and we sent up Ted Dayharsh as our first Liaison Officer.
As far as I was concerned, the 31st and September 1st were busy but not notable. Thinvs we re rapidly falling into dace as far as the occupation is concerned — and Ftoblic Relations like ooor relations, were constantly with us, preparing the details of the surrender ceremony*
The day of the surrender was overcast with about a four-thousand foot ceiling and the temperature was pleasant — George Kosco, the Aerologist thereby remaining in the good graces of all hands. Bill Kitehell, the Flag Lieutenant, had worked like a dog on the arrangements — and under somewhat anomalous circumstances in view of the fact that these arrangements were for Mac Arthur's shew; on a shin of Admiral Nimitz's fleet. However, Willie the Kitch rose to his greatest heights. The elaborate plans were gone over in rehearsal, actually stationing bodies at all points, and on The Day all hands were given urograms on arrival telling them what to do and when to do it.
Destroyers separately brought the press contingent, the foreign representatives, General MacArthur, and the Nips. The destroyers came alongside MISSOURI and discharged their passengers with speed, dash, and accuracy. The ceremony itself took place on the veranda deck by Number Two Turret, starboard side; the stage props were simple — a table and two chairs, and the flag that Commodore Perry flew -when Japan v'as opened. The American Army and Navy and representatives were inboard, the signers and foreign representatives stood abaft the signing table, and the Nips were lined up forward of the signing table under the cold gaze of the victorious representatives.
MacArthur’s manner to Admiral Bill and to the rest of the THIRD Fleet Staff was heartwarming. He knows us all by first names and he made no pretense to hide his elation that his sidekicks from the old
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1983
oe-string South Pacific days were meeting him here at the end of the road. So to me bhat was Frand to see so many of Bill Halsey's old
u pacific fighting scoundrels in at the kill.
sim The two copies of the Instrument of Surrender were placed on the
di/-®-bai2e'COVered table and MacArthur stepped to the table and in a few no d il0d- &nd forcePud words comnemorated this event; there could have been Word°Ubt in thp minds of the crestfallen Japanese as to uhe import of those all S*- sbated briefly that we were not here to discuss matters — that
joints of controversy were settled on the battlefield. He was impress- coui^v there was not a false note in his words nor his bearing and there S£r. " be no doubt in anybody's mind that Hirohito for here on in, was
the Deputy Emperor. The senior Japanese delegate Shigemitsu, in the^rvr SS^Ve mourndnS dress and top hat, signed first, followed by Umezo stoo'lef-0f the JaPanese General Staff. The other Nips for the moment ali° by 1J? crushed silence with only one, Tomioka, showing resentment (we recognized the possibility of a Hari Kiri job and one news nhotogranher even provided himself with Xodachrome film, just in case).
both • After the NiPs siEned» General Ife.cArthur affixed his signature to att ?°pies’ using several pens which he gave to different peopled Ho W8S Ueu?d0d by„Lieutenant General Wainright, thin but far from whioped, by leficlf1^ ~eneral Percival of the British Army who had also just been’ re- S9d from prison camp.
A<hnir 1 u Adrniral Nimibz then signed for the United States, attended by China**1 T'lsey a“d Forrest Sherman. Thereafter the representatives of »e Admiral Sir Eruce Fraser for the United Kingdom, a tough looking tran18111^ f°r Russia» General Blarney for Australia, General LeClerc for ce, General Cosgrave for Canada, Admiral Helfrich for Holland, and tyrc/erj,r dear Triend Len Isitt for New Zealand. Cosgrave signed at the pageS olace °n bhe second copy thereby almost forcing Len Isitt off the
0f 0 To there was something peculiarly unfitting in the presence
ine r&nCe at this cer9rnony» their contribution to the Pacific war consisted solely of contributing the use of New Caledonia and the Societies to a ?59 and furnishing a couple of frigates in the South Pacific which had bisance value somewhau less than that of' the enemy. ^Clerc's dignity
whn fersonal record were all that prevented its being high comedy for those ao know the story.
The entire affair was deeply soul satisfying. Not only was the
business-like sim-
remony itself nrofoundly imnressive in its dignity and Clty» but the presence of the Navy in force in Tokyo Bay was more elo-
Plic
°’!Qat than anv words.
de
As far as the eye could see, the Navy was in evi-
dur^95 aad aS a Pinab b°'!ch, Vice Admiral Pinv V.'ilkinson entered the bay Cay1^ bbe cerernony with some thirty-odd transports bringing in the First a ry Division to Yokohama. B-29's flew in stately formation over the
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r®cced
anchorage, and the full force from the carriers orbited about 15 miles away during the ceremony and as the last word was said, they were called in by the fleet fighter director and roared over the MISSOURI in tight formations and at low altitude in a show of Navy air power that was breathtaking and made the spine tingle.
The MISSOURI issued little cards which could be carried in the wallet as a memento of this event. It was a rising sun — perhaps I should better say the setting sun — that certified with facsimile.signatures of MacArthur, Niraitz, and Halsey that the bearer had been present at this great event.
I believe that the news coverage was good; every arrangement had been made for broadcasting and ohotograohic and about 300 members of the Four til Estate were on hand to record every detail.
And that is the story of the surrender of Japan. From now on it is a matter of enforcement of the terms of surrender and God help us if we weaken. Orientals do nop respect weakness and the best interests of the world will be served by the sternest type of occupation. Today, these peonle like any other swaggering bullies, are down on their luck and have ouit cold. Japan is a beaten, hollow', shell and I pray to God that vTe leave nothing in the place which can ever again be converted to the execution of the olan which they formulated in 1894 which finally collapsed on the second day of September 1945.
ROBT. B. CARNEY.
As General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, attended by his old comrade in arms, General Jonathan “Skinny Wainwright, affixed his signature to the instrument of surrender, the other signers stood abaft of the signing table while the Japanese delegation lined up forward of the table “under the cold gaze of the victorious. . ■ ■