Doc White Memoir page 56 – 59
It being Sunday most of the shops were closed and there didn’t seem to be much doing. Dean and I walked down to the waterfront and along the quays looking at the fishing boats drawn up there drying their nets and other gear. On the way back we found a grocery store open and I bought a cheese. It was a perfect sphere and was put up in a spherical tin-can. When we opened it at home nearly a month later we found it was excellent, resembling a good moist Edam. It was quite warm and humid and we were … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 51 – 55
It was beastly hot inside the plane at first but cooled somewhat after the take off which was at 0900. The trip itself was very uninteresting until we began to approach Karachi when we flew over supply dumps and encampments which seemed to reach as far as the eye could see in every direction. We landed at 1300 and the first thing I saw was a 4-motored Stratoliner sitting on the ramp. I found out that it was taking off for the USA that night and so went looking for someone in authority. I finally reached the officer in charge … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 46 – 50
Monday was rather a dull day, no alert, no news about our plane. In the afternoon the local Chinese Station Master showed up with word that we might get a plane the next afternoon. He was a nice looking young chap, 33 years old and had been in aviation for 15 years, Jimmy had been his instructor! He told us that Linhai the town in which we had stayed so long, had been captured by the Japs. We had expected it of course but were naturally worried about the safety of all of our friends there. (Nearly two years later … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 41 – 45
I slept until 0930 that morning, a real treat after getting up at the crack of dawn or earlier for so long. Had a bath, shave and breakfast, and felt considerably refreshed. It was raining hard and the countryside was a sea of mud. We finally got word that a Station wagon was coming from Kian to pick us up and that we would stay there until it arrived. We all welcomed a day of rest since we had been traveling for a week without letup. I wrote letters and Clever shaved with my razor. It was his first crack … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 36 – 40
Wednesday the 20th we were up at 0500 and had a sumptuous breakfast of five courses. Eating fried eggs with chopsticks is quite a feat! Dr. Chen telephoned around and found that we would have to go by way of Lishui after all. This was to be our most difficult day since we had to cross a rather high mountain to reach Hwotsing, our next stop. However the possibility of a car meeting us there pepped us up to meet the ordeal.
We continued on up the valley which was now getting narrower and steeper, the scenery becoming more rugged … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 31 – 35
Friday the 8th found Ted worse again. The stump was draining a purulent material from the angles and he was “off the beam” (irrational) and not eating. Dr. Chen said he was on the track of some Sulfathiazole, so I encouraged him to do his utmost to get some.
That afternoon I went down town again looking for some dental instruments. Dentistry, Watchmaking and Photography are combined in China into one specialty! As usual whenever any of us appeared in public we collected a big crowd. The Chinese were much amused by some pheasant feathers I had stuck into my … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 26 – 30
Davenport’s chief injuries consisted of several deep cuts on his right leg which were badly infected with the same foul organisms. McClure had dislocated both shoulders, but at the time, with no X-ray available I did not make the diagnosis. Both shoulders were hugely swollen and ecchymotic and the deformity was not apparent. I thought he had sustained a possible fracture of the right shoulder and a nerve injury on the left with an almost complete left wrist-drop. Mac also had several minor cuts, all badly infected. Clever had very evidently had a basilar skull fracture with bleeding from the … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 21 – 25
The next morning (the 23rd) we awakened much refreshed. With his usual consideration Mr. Chen had provided toothbrushes, and after its use my mouth tasted a little less like the bottom of a birdcage! We were told we could send telegrams so we wired Chungking announcing our safe arrival. I also filed a cable to Edith, my wife, “Safe and well”, but the message was never delivered.
After breakfast a mass meeting was held in our honor, attended by the local townspeople, soldiers and school children. Everyone gave speeches, and there was much singing and cheering. Two buglers blew some … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 16 – 20
Chang had detailed five of his men to guard us, including his “No. 1 boy”. In Pidgin-English, “No. 1″ means “the very best, or first class,” thus someone’s No. 1 boy is his first assistant, his most trusted servant or lieutenant. It seemed to us that everybody we met in rural China either had a No. 1 boy handy or was proud of being the No. 1 boy of somebody important. Our escort was thus composed of the No. 1 boy; the No. 1 boy’s No. 1 boy; and so on!
Our guard’s armament consisted of the most amazing array … Continued
Doc White Memoir page 10 – 15
We crossed the ridge and ran into the heavy smoke haze which surrounds Osaka, “the Pittsburgh of Japan.” It was over 90 minutes since the bombing of Tokyo and yet we saw no signs of an air-raid alert. Trains, street cars and busses were still running on the streets, people were out walking about. We even passed a commercial airliner heading in the other direction. We flew along the river which divides Osaka from Kobe and I was snapping pictures right and left. The area was packed with factories. As we approached Kobe a sea breeze blew the smoke back … Continued
Recent Comments in this Document
June 3, 2013 at 4:56 am
Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the USS Vincennes that fired on the Nitto Maru, it was the USS Nashville. Both ships look similar because they are registered as light cruisers. Here’s an excerpt describing that same event, but from the Vincennes’ point-of-view:
But on the morning of the 18th, while the ships were plowing through a fairly heavy sea, a small Japanese craft, probably a fishing or patrol boat, was sighted on the Nashville’s bow. That cruiser immediately began firing at the Jap, which, Captain Riefkohl states, “acted like a loon: in trying to dodge the fire by appearing to duck behind the swelling water. Evidently the Nashville hit her target, but soon dive bombers from the Enterprise circled over the helpess craft and put an end to it. Shortly thereafter another small enemy boat appeared, and it was disposed of in a like manner.
Source: Donald Hugh Dorris et al., A Log of the Vincennes (Louisville: Standard Printing Company, 1947), 199.
Halsey actually ordered the Nashville to fire on the craft. CAPT FS Craven, the Nashville‘s commander, asked by flag hoist to fire on the craft at 0750. Halsey responded at 0752 and the carrier violently engaged. What Doc White describes is the Nashville‘s six-inch gun fire. The cruiser depleted 928 rounds, and took 29 minutes to sink the Nitto Maru. Craven blamed the length of time on heavy swells of 20 feet, and the lack of experience by his gunnery-crews.
Source: Clayton Chun, The Doolittle Raid 1942: America’s First Strike Back at Japan (Campaign) (Osprey Publishing, 2012), kindle edition.
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June 3, 2013 at 4:07 am
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Vincennes_%28CA-44%29_bombards_Guadalcanal.jpg
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April 10, 2013 at 10:42 pm
Trivial note: “Limey” doesn’t technically work here, as it actually refers to sailors (who consumed limes to ward of scurvy). Given that there wouldn’t have been sailors anywhere near the Fullujah area…
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April 10, 2013 at 9:51 pm
Another note on Puchong: To confuse things further, there is Putian which is in Fujian.
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April 10, 2013 at 9:48 pm
Quong Sah could be Quanzhou if he was indeed in Fujian. If, however, he was off to the Nanchang in Jiangxi this is all likely incorrect.
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April 10, 2013 at 9:31 pm
Lung Twang… maybe this is Lianjiang county, which is located in Fujian??
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April 10, 2013 at 7:37 pm
It threw me off that he might be referring to a province here rather than a unique city, but Fujian is the most likely candidate for “Puchong”. Fuzhou may have been a possible stop, it’s almost exactly 300 km from Lishui, which is quite consistent with this account.
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April 10, 2013 at 7:25 pm
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April 10, 2013 at 7:13 pm
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April 10, 2013 at 7:03 pm
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