Steven Trent Smith - The Rescue : A True Story of Courage and Survival in World War II

B u s i n e s s C u l i n a r y A r c h i t e c t u r e C o m p u t e r G e n e r a l I n t e r e s t

C h i l d r e n L i f e S c i e n c e s B i o g r a p h y A c c o u n t i n g F i n a n c e M a t h e m a t i c s H i s t o r y S e l f - I m p r o v e m e n t H e a l t h E n g i n e e r i n g G r a p h i c D e s i g n

A p p l i e d S c i e n c e s P s y c h o l o g y

I n t e r i o r D e s i g n B i o l o g y C h e m i s t r y W

e

ILEY

WILEY

JOSSEY-BASS

B O O K

PFEIFFER

J.K.LASSER

CAPSTONE

WILEY-LISS

WILEY-VCH

WILEY-INTERSCIENCE

frontmatter 2/26/01 10:35 AM Page i

T H E

RESCUE

A True Story of Courage and Survival

in World War II

Steven Trent Smith

J o h n W i l e y & S o n s , I n c .

New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto fcopyebk.qxd 3/23/01 3:59 PM Page ii

To Geoffrey and Martha, for their encouragement and support, and Al Dempster, for his unstinting assistance

Copyright 2001 by Steven Trent Smith. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Published simultaneously in Canada

Design and production by Navta Associates, Inc.

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CONTENTS

Maps

v

Authors Note

viii

Prologue

Special Mission

The Missionaries

Separation

The Sugar Families

The Prisoners of War

Independence Day

Planter, Soldier, Oilman, Spy

The Samurais Story

The Seventh Son

Terms of Exchange

Converging Paths

The Rescue

Precious Cargo

Freedom

The Admirals

Decisive Battle

Epilogue

Notes

Bibliography

Index

iii

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STS

AIIAN

W

ISLANDS

HA

earl HarborP

Samoa

ya

Midw

FIJI

awra

Ta

MARSHALL

ISLANDS

ajalein

T

wK

ek

ACIFIC OCEAN

GILBER

ISLANDS

Wa

P

Eniwetok

Caledonia

w

Ne

illev

ISLANDS

,

Bougain

k

G

u

SOLOMON

Tr

ral SeaoC

isbane

Br

Rabaul

MARIANAS

ISLANDS

AN

OLINE

JAP

o

o Jima

CAR

ISLANDS

oky

Iw

T

Saipan

Guam

G

NEW GUINEA

lau

forea Sea

Biak

aP

Ara

a

Inland Sea

aw

Philippine Sea

Darwin

Halmaher

G

Okina

AUSTRALIA

yte

KOREA

n

Le

Mindanao

o

PHILIPPINES

rmosa

Luz

Banda Sea

Timor Sea

Molukka Sea

oF

Celebes Sea

G

G

Negros

n

Sulu Sea

a

Manila

wla

it

ong

Shanghai

G

a

Pa

Celebes

reemantleFG

South China Sea

CHINA

Hong K

EAST INDIES

Balabac Str

BORNEO

A

NETHERLANDS

V

JA

Pacific Ocean area in 1944. Source: U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey, Campaigns of the Pacific, 1946.

v

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PHILIPPINES

South China Sea

Luzon

Lingayan Gulf

Philippine Sea

Manila

Bataan

G

Corrigedor

Mindoro

San Bernardino Strait

Samar

The Visayas

Panay

Cebu

Leyte

Palawan

Surigao Strait

Negros

Bohol

Sulu Sea

Mindanao

Balabac Strait

Davao G

Sibitu

Jolo

Passage

Borneo

Tawi Tawi

Celebes Sea

STS

The Philippines in 1944. Source: United States Army in World War II: The War in the Pacific: The Fall of the Philippines, 1985.

vi

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PANAY

G Manapla

G Fabrica

GSilay

Guimaras

Mount Mandalagan

Guimaras

G Murcia

Strait

G Bacolod

G San Carlos

G Bago

Mount Canlaon

G Pontevedra

NEGROS

G Binalbagan

Pacuan

G Guihulingan

Valley

G Kabankalan

CEBU

Ilog River

Tanon

G Sipalay

Strait

Bohol

Tablas Plateau

Bias G

Strait

Pamplona G

G Abcedes HQ

Tyabanan

River

Basay

G

Malabo G

Balatong Point

G Tolong

Dumaguete G

SIQUIJOR

Cuernos de Negros

SULU SEA

G

Siaton

STS

Negros Island. Source: Guerrilla map drawn by Colonel Abcedes engineers in 1943.

vii

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A U T H O R S NOTE

I HAVE BEEN IN THE THRALL of the Pacific for as long as I can remember. Its sway over me is inexplicable. Growing up near San Francisco, a visit to The City always meant a stop at the Golden Gate Bridge to watch the ships coming and going. I still recall the thrill of seeing a giant aircraft carrier glide beneath the span. My mother often read to me about the Pacific: about tramp steamers plying their trade, about divers seeking rare black pearls, about China Clippers on the sea and in the air. I spent hours curled up beneath the tall windows of the Redwood City Library, poring through dog-eared National Geographic s, looking for pictures, stories, anything about the Pacific. I longed to travel to the fabled places on those pages: Hawaii and Hong Kong; Palau and Pohnpei; Auckland, Adelaide, Manila, and Nadi. After working as a photojournalist for a quarter of a century I can say with immense satisfaction that I did visit all those places, and each lived up to my imaginative expectations.

The roots of The Rescue lie in this love for the Pacific, which was manifested as a lifelong interest in all things Pacifica and especially in World War II as it was fought in that gargantuan arena. And they lie, too, in a more recent curiosity spawned by a computer game, a simulation of submarine warfare given to me by my son Geoffrey. That sparked an interest in reading every book I could find about the U.S. Navys submarine campaign. That led, in turn, to a realization that no one had written a thorough history of the nearly three hundred