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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
901 M STREET 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