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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
China Service 1937-1939, 1945-1957
Japanese aggression against China, evidenced by the move
into Manchuria in 1931 and subsequent incidents in Shanghai, surfaced
anew in 1937 when a minor clash near Peking erupted into a full-scale
invasion.
The area of hostilities spread quickly, and units of the U.S.
Asiatic Fleet, under Admiral Harry E. Yarnell, evacuated American
citizens and protected national interests, standing firm again
Japan's increasingly belligerent actions toward neutrals. At Shanghai,
United States ships were endangered by Japanese aerial bombings
and artillery fire.
On 12 December 1937, Japanese naval aircraft attacked and
sank the river gunboat USS Panay. At the end of World War
II, the U.S. Navy returned to China to repatriate Japanese soldiers
and to assist the Chinese Central Government in enforcing the
surrender terms. Seventh Fleet Amphibious Forces provided transport
for Chinese Nationalist troops and carried food supplies from
Shanghai up the Yangtze to fight near-famine conditions in the
interior.
07 August 1996