Operation Blue Star
Third Reconnaissance Battalion
1960
By James R. Hewitt Jr.
~
On
Tuesday, March 22, 1960 at 0230 Hours
five
US Marines were swept out to sea during a major storm in a 14
foot rubber boat while attempting a simulated clandestine landing
on White Beach off the southwestern shore of Taiwan two days
before D-Day during Operation Blue Star. 29 US ships from the Seventh Fleet, fixed
wing aircraft of Patrol Squadron 40, USS Bon Homme Richard, First
Marine Air Wing and Marine Helicopters from the USS Princeton
plus 11 ships of the Nationalist Chinese Navy conducted a maximum
effort air sea search covering 50,000 square miles in the Formosa
Straits. Every known uninhabited rock and island was searched
with out locating the Marines. The search had been covering the
possibility that the men may have sailed their boat to an island
eastward rather than drifting to the Chinese Mainland in order to
avoid capture by the Red Chinese.
On Friday March 25,1960 at 0900 hours the fleet was notified by Nationalist Chinese Police that the Marines possibly were on Hung Tiou Hsui Island located approximately 45 miles east of Taiwan off its southeastern coast 125 miles from where they originally attempted their landing. The author was one of the five lost Marines. This is his story of their survival.
~
I
enlisted into the US Marine Corps Reserve, 8th Automatic
Weapons Battery USMCR at Bakersfield California on my 17th birthday in April
1957.
Here I received training on mechanized 20 MM anti aircraft
vehicles which were actually tanks with open anti aircraft gun
turrets.
On July 1, 1957. I reported for 6 months of active duty
following completion of the remainder of my second
year of high school.
I completed a grueling 13 weeks of Boot
Camp as a member of platoon 374 under the supervision of Senior
Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant L. S. Kelly. His junior DI’s were
Staff Sergeant A. Reyes and Corporal L. R Stark. Sergeants Kelly
and Reyes
were WWII and Korean Veterans and Corporal
Stark was a Korean War Veteran. They were all very demanding
drill instructors and
trained
us well. Upon graduation from Boot Camp we realized that these
DI's were pretty
decent guys and great Marines whom we all admired and looked up
to. Our right guide and Platoon Series Honor man was PFC Michael
J. Farrell (He later became an actor and played B. J. Honeycutt
in the MASH TV Series).
Following boot it was 4 more weeks of Training at the Infantry Training Regiment at Camp San Onofre, Camp Pendleton, California followed by 6 weeks of advanced weapons training. I returned to active reserve status in January 1958 and by March 1, 1958 I voluntarily returned to active duty for an additional 4 years in the regular Marine Corps.
After all the Infantry and special weapons training I had received on my prior tour of active duty I was transferred to Marine Barracks, Naval Ammunition Depot at Bangor, Washington, as a Marine Guard. Our Guard Company was responsible for the security of this top secret base. I felt this assignment was totally inconstant with my training in advanced weaponry.
It turned out that I had been assigned a medical profile by the medical officer, which limited me to light duty assignments and excluded me from assignments to any combat infantry or rifle unit because I was under weight. This was pretty much a guaranteed 4-year assignment with no prospect of re assignment to any other duty station in the Marine Corps so long as I remained under weight.
I think perhaps the best thing that came out of this duty assignment was when they took me to the Naval Air Station at nearby Whidbey Island and gave me a GED test for high school equivalency, which I passed. This helped me get into to college later.
I knew nothing of this medical profile until I attempted to transfer to an Infantry weapons unit with the First Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. After nine months in the guard company I was getting restless and wanted a more exciting assignment. I suspect that the fact that I could not be transferred had a reverse physiological effect on the First Sergeant as well. He could not transfer me if he wanted to and this made him want to very badly.
When I learned of the profile I approached the Medical Officer and protested. He agreed to lift the profile if I could gain enough weight to satisfy the medical requirements within two weeks. I asked the First Sergeant to coordinate with the Mess Sergeant a two-week special assignment in the mess hall with emphases placed on the consumption of great quantities of certain kinds of food (sort of a forced special diet you might say), so that I might gain enough weight to get the profile removed. Of course the First Sergeant jumped at the chance and I was feasting in the mess hall all day every day for the next two weeks. I pretty much had the run of the place. I could eat anything I wanted fixed any way I wanted it anytime I wanted it and, no guard duty.
In order to remove the profile I needed to weigh in at 130 pounds by the end of the two weeks. When we started I only weighed 118 pounds. So that meant I had to gain 12 pounds in 14 days. Every day at the same time the Mess Sergeant would put me on the scale but the weight gain was not increasing fast enough. The First Sergeant came in every day and would ask the Mess Sergeant how I was doing and the Mess Sergeant would simply shrug his shoulders then the First Sergeant would just hang his head and shake it in a negative manner and walk off. Sometimes I thought there must be a big money bet in the works and the First Sergeant was about to lose his shirt. I feared that if that was the case and I could not get the profile lifted I would be at the mercy of the First Sergeant with a toothbrush and can of Bon-Ami in hand and on my knees cleaning grout in the floor tile for the duration of my enlistment. On the last day I was three pounds short and scheduled to report to the Medical Officer to check my weight at 1300 hours. Per the First Sergeant’s orders, I spent the morning in the mess hall eating 3 pounds of bananas and forbidden to make any head calls (navy slang for using the restroom) before I weighed in, and it worked.
They lifted my profile and I was transferred to the First Marines at Camp Pendleton, California. I was assigned to the weapons platoon of “K” (Kilo) Company, Third Battalion, First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division (FMF) as a member of a M29A1, 81-mm mortar team. My job was carrying the mortar base plate, which as I recall, weighed something like 60 or 80 pounds.
Carrying the mortar base plate in addition to my pack, rifle and all my other equipment while on amphibious maneuvers and trying to climb down a cargo net of an APA (troop transport ship) and getting into landing craft off the coast of Camp Pendleton was not a fun job. But I had no complaints; it felt good to be part of a team and to do what Marines do. It was not long before I was back down to 118 pounds though. However, I was never checked again by medical for a profile and remained eligible for line outfits from then on. The following January, I received orders to the Camp Pendleton staging area for transportation to the Third Marine Division on Okinawa.
After
a run through the shot line at the clinic and re-qualification at
the rifle range I found myself with all my gear in the back of a
6X6 truck as part of a very long convoy in route to Long Beach,
California where we boarded an old WW II Liberty ship, the USS
Talladega APA 208. We departed on February 2, 1959. The ship was
one of six troop transport ships in a convoy en route to Okinawa.
It was a miserable 31-day voyage stopping in route at Pearl
Harbor for a day with one 8-hour liberty, which I was not privy
to as I was assigned the duty for the day. Then it was on to the
World War II island battleground of Iwo Jima for a touring cruse
around the island just to kill time because the port at Okinawa
was not ready to receive us. (We should have stayed at Pearl
another day and I too could have had liberty) It was an
interesting tour however. All the old sunken ships, destroyed
landing craft, wrecked tanks and military equipment was still
there just as it had been left the day following the
battle.
We arrived at Naha, Okinawa on March 7, 1959 and like a bunch of cattle we were herded into the back of 6X6 trucks provided by Ninth Motors and on our way north where we were later deposited in front of a line of empty squad tents at Camp Hansen for processing. I was required to perform my annual obligation of 30 days of mess duty and was promptly assigned to the camp mess hall. (My special mess assignment apparently did not count. Should have gone to cooks and bakers school considering all the mess duty I had to pull.)
I recall my first night on the town. I was really anxious to get out and see the sights. I went by myself and after visiting a number of bars I noticed that each time I entered a bar the girls in the place would hold out their arms and call out to me “Dozo, Dozo” followed by a few seemingly kind words I could not understand. It seemed that everywhere I went the girls were calling me Dozo and motioning for me to sit with them. I never sat with any of them because I could not understand what they were saying. When I had my fill of excitement for the evening I returned to my tent at Camp Hansen thinking I was someone special and told all the guys that I must look like some guy named Dozo. When asked why I thought that? I replied because all the girls were calling me Dozo. He must be an awfully popular guy, I said. Then someone who had been to Okinawa previously piped up and said, dozo in Japanese means “please” and they were simply saying, please come sit with me. My ego was immediately deflated and all the guys got a good laugh.
I completed my tour in the Camp Hanson mess hall by the first week of May and was assigned to MCB Camp Butler, Third Marine Division, Head Quarters and Service Battalion as a clerk in the Division Fiscal Office. I was given the mundane task of adding up the totals of purchase orders all day long with a ten key adding machine. The only excitement in this job was an occasional smile from an attractive young Okinawan woman who was working as an assistant to Captain Johnson. She would occasionally catch me alone and ask me to make purchases for her in the Marine Post Exchange (which was strictly forbidden) and I was only too happy to provide these luxuries for her on the sly. Even though most Marines in the infantry units would have been happy to trade places with me, I found the job boring and unrewarding. I went through a lot to get my profile removed and I was not about to spend the rest of my service carrier as a clerk punching the keys of an adding machine and buying goodies in the Post Exchange for Sumiko. I wanted to do something exciting.
Captain Johnson was a good officer to work with in the office setting. Our office was located in an old run down WWII quonset hut and the Captain didn’t have a private office. His desk was next to my desk. It seemed he was just one of the guys and we were never intimidated by his rank. Every day on the job I complained that I was not meeting my potential as a Marine. I never missed an opportunity to express my desire to be reassigned to an infantry unit or a rifle company. I had heard of the new Reconnaissance Battalion at Camp Mercy and that they were some kind of elite Marine Special Operations Force who frequently deployed on missions as small independent reconnaissance teams attached to other 3rd Marine Division (FMF) units. This seemed to be just my cup of tea.
The
3rd Reconnaissance Battalion (3rd Recon Bn.) was
re-organized officially as a Marine Corps unit on Okinawa in 1958
at “Camp Isahama” or as it was commonly called “Camp Mercy” Which
was an old post World War II Army Hospital initially converted into a
Marine Corps Camp to accommodate the housing needs of the Third
Marine Regiment. The camp was located in the central part of
Okinawa a short distance north of Kadena AFB. The battalion
specialized in amphibious reconnaissance, ground reconnaissance,
surveillance, and limited scale raids in support of other Marine
Air-Ground units.
I never missed an opportunity to remark within earshot of Captain Johnson that I should be a “Recon Marine” instead of a “poggy bait clerk” (a slang Navy -Marine term of contempt for someone who has a cushy or easy going job). Well they say, “ Be careful what you wish for”. By July 1. 1959 I was in the back of Captain Johnson’s jeep with my rifle and a fully packed sea bag heading south en route to Camp Mercy carrying orders to report to the commanding officer of “C” (Charlie) Company 3rd Recon Battalion.
The
company office was an old shabby Quonset hut with an old putrid
green and white paint job. The paint was pealing off but there
was a large freshly painted red and yellow shield mounted over
the entrance featuring a white skull and crossed paddles (in
place of crossed bones) superimposed over the points of a compass
on a red background and the words “Swift, Silent and Deadly,
Charlie Company, 3rd Recon Bn.”. I was getting
excited, this is a real Marine outfit, I thought.
As soon as I entered the duty office, the Company First Sergeant, Master Sgt Chappell, was on me and I found myself on the deck in front of his desk giving 25 pushups. I wasn’t being punished for a criminal act mind you, that was just the way it was in Recon. You never walked, it was always double time and if an officer or a staff NCO caught you walking he would order you down for 25 pushups. You were expected to be in tiptop physical condition at all times. It was immediately apparent that I was going to be doing some pushups now and again.
By this time I was still a 19 year old runt of a
kid and had just received my second promotion from Private to PFC
before I reported in at 5’11 ½” tall and weighing 118 pounds
soaking wet with a 26 inch waist and sporting the nick name
“Bones”. Our cartridge belts had 5 pockets on each side designed
to contain clips of eight rounds of 30-06 ammo for our M-1
rifles. I was so skinny I could not wear my cartridge belt because when it was
adjusted down to its smallest size it would just drop down to my
ankles. So I had to use a pair of BAR-man’s suspenders during rifle
inspections to hold my cartridge belt up. Eventually they made me
a BAR Man I suppose because I didn't look so much out of
place since all BAR-men wore suspenders because of the weight of
the 10 twenty round magazines in our belts. (BAR stands for Browning Automatic
Rifle.)
I never gained any
weight in that unit but I was soon in top physical condition. If
you were a field Marine and you were small and or underweight and
assigned to a weapons or rifle company you could find yourself
carrying equipment that weighed almost as much as you did. Recon
was the ideal unit for a guy like me. Because of my weight, I
could run like the
wind and never got winded. We always traveled
light and seldom carried anything too heavy or cumbersome. We needed to move
fast and without being seen. ("Swift Silent and Deadly" was our motto) We
didn’t even have to wear steal helmets and in the field we left
our rifles (BAR in my case) in our lockers most of the time and carried M3-A1
sub-machineguns (grease guns) instead, which weighed less than 3
pounds.
I had been assigned to Recon only about two weeks and was assigned duty NCO for the night. At about 15 minutes after 0700 hours a friend of mine reported in after liberty 15 minutes late. He had been late before and was told the next time he was late they would bust him from PFC to Private. He begged me not to log him in late. Feeling sorry for him I logged him in on time as a favor. About 30 minutes later First Sergeant Chappell came in and examined the log. He questioned me about the friend of mine and asked why I logged him on time when he had seen him come through the front gate after 0700 hours? With in two hours both my friend and I were Privates again. I was fortunate that I did not have to accompany my friend to the brig.
We
trained extensively at a swimming pool at the nearby Army Base at
Sukiran about 15 miles away that housed their Special Forces. Our
mode of transportation was on foot at double time of course. We
would depart Camp Mercy right after morning chow and upon arrival
at the pool we would swim until chow time then eat lunch at the
Army base which I must admit was a lot better than the chow at
Camp Mercy. Then after chow it was double time 15 miles back to
Camp Mercy just in time to get ready for rifle inspection in full
uniform before evening chow. We also would frequent the local
beaches to learn and practice hydrographic surveys (making maps
of obstacles and hazards under water) using snorkel gear, swim
fins and facemasks.
We underwent cold weather survival training at the Mt. Fuji-McNair area of Japan for 15 days. In this instance we were also acting as aggressors in a war game with an infantry regiment and a tank battalion. (Can’t remember which ones) anyway on our first night out on patrol our squad divided up into three patrols one fire team each. (4 man teams) and it was pitch black that night. I mean you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. I was the point on our patrol and on this training we were armed with our M1 Rifles loaded with blank rounds. (this was before I was made a BAR-man) We each loaded our rifles with clips of eight rounds. I remember that our platoon leader at that time was Lt. Robert C. Knowles and he was assigned as an umpire. All of a sudden I saw a silhouette of a man armed with an M1 standing directly in front of me and almost close enough to touch him. We saw each other at exactly the same time. Each thinking the other was from the opposing force, both of us pointed our rifles at each other and fired all eight rounds. This created a chain reaction and the three other members of my fire team opened up and emptied their rifles as we heard three other guys opposite us open fire and empty their rifles at the same time. When all the smoke cleared it turned out the other group was one of the other fire teams from our squad. Lt Knowles declared all of us dead so two thirds of our squad were now dead from friendly fire and we were out of the game for the rest of the night.
The following night our whole platoon went out to
raid the tankers. We located a tank platoon all of which were
sleeping in mummy bags next to their tanks (it was a very cold
night) and even their guard was asleep. This was about 0200
hours. We swooped in and zipped all of them up in their bags tied
them shut so they could not unzip their bags and held them as
POW's. One was a LT Colonel who was raising hell and wanted loose.
He was so angry that we were afraid to let him out so we kept him zipped up in his mummy bag.
Our battalion Commander who was also a Lt Colonel soon came by and
felt sorry for him. Our Colonel assured us that there would
be no repercussions and ordered us to let him loose. Glad I never
got transferred to the tanker outfit after that.
We frequently practiced escape and evasion techniques while living off the land in unfamiliar surroundings for days or weeks at a time with out provisions in the jungles of northern Okinawa and on the island of Iro-Mote-Jima.
Once in the jungle of the extreme northern part of
Okinawa we were split up into 5 man teams, given a map and
compass and told we had five days to travel through the jungle on
a 35 mile course with out any provisions and live
off the land. Our mission was to make the trip with out getting
captured. A battalion from the 5th Marine Regiment was in the
field trying to capture us.
Gunny Sgt Heistler was in charge of our 5-man team and he was wise as a fox. We eat well off of snake, turtles, fish and stole pineapples from the local farmer's fields. The exercise was designed so that everyone would get captured. However, the evening of the last night of the exercise our team had not been captured yet. It was dusk and we had come to a ridge with steep rugged impassable areas descending on both sides of the dirt road with a big clear area where a large encampment of the 5th Marines were blocking our ability to get through.
As we sat some distance away contemplating how to get around them, an old truck approached us with a load of wood and some Okinawan woodcutters on it. We stopped the truck, took off our shirts, covered ourselves with lots of dirt, barrowed some of the shirts and pointed straw hats the woodcutters were wearing. Dressed like Okinawans, we climbed up on the load of logs and had them drive us right through the middle of the camp. While doing so we would wave at the Marines camped there and smile and laugh and they in turn would wave and smile back and through us candy and cigarettes from their rations.
By the time we got through them and out of sight it was dark and we got off the truck at a small a turn out for passing vehicles. After the truck left we were setting their discussing our next move when we heard an approaching jeep so we spread out and covered our selves up with our ponchos so as to look like rocks along the road. The jeep came up and stopped. A 5th Marine Captain got out and walked up next to me. I remained as still as I could while he stood their and urinated. Then he got back in his jeep and they drove away.
The next morning we reached our objective and learned we were the only team from the entire company that made it through the course without being captured. Every one was amazed and the same Captain who was in the jeep the night before came and interviewed us to find out how we were able to circumvent his trap. We told him about riding through the camp on the truck and he would not believe us until I told him that I was the rock he urinated on the night before. He was astonished but he believed us. Recon was hard work but a fun outfit and I always enjoyed our field actives.
We went to the Island of IRO MOTE JIMA (the last island in the Ryukyus chain before you come to Taiwan) for a week of survival training. We were on the USS Cook APD 130 as part of an experiment using radar for guidance. There is a large river that opens into the sea on the island and we were to be guided to a pre determined landing site up river by radar from the ship. Each of our boats were equipped with a devise similar to an umbrella except it was covered with a net made of aluminum foil and the ship’s radar could track us as we traveled up the river and would tell us where to land by radio when they determined we had reached our destination. Our mission was two fold. First our mission was a survival training exercise and we were to live off the land for a week and, second, we were to map the island to determine if it were useful as a training base for the Third Marine Division. The Island was one of those islands that were by passed during WWII and we were the first American troops ever to land on the Island. Or so we were told.
We paddled up river for nine miles and when we
reached our landing site on the bank of the river there was a
thatched roofed hut there with an old couple of the native
population living there alone. They had a water buffalo and
various chickens and ducks in the yard and a fishing canoe on the
bank. They did not know who we were and did not understand why we
were there. We just moved into their yard and set up camp and the
next day they were gone. We maintained our base camp their while we
went out on our various missions. I used the old man's canoe for fishing
and caught a few fish. Some guys killed a wild pig and we caught
several snakes for food. When we left we all pooled our money
and left it in the hut for the old couple when they returned. I
doubt that they knew what to do with it though.
By
late December 1959, Charlie Company had performed numerous recon
missions operating off submarines, destroyers and destroyer
escorts paddling to shore in small rubber boats traveling to
remote areas including Borneo and the Philippines at Corrigador
Island off the tip of the Bataan Peninsula as you enter Manila
Bay. We operated in small 5 and 9 man teams making stealth
landings and performing simulated clandestine missions on various
islands. It was the Marine Recon units that developed the battle
cry “HOORAH!” now used universally by both the Army and Marines.
It stems from our departures from submarines. We used to get into
our inflated rubber boats on the decks of submarines and let the
submarine submerge out from under us as we paddled off on our
mission. As the submarines were submerging the warning horn would
sound off “AAH-OO-GAH, AAH-OO-GAH, AAH-OO-GAH” We would mock this
sound and eventually it evolved into our battle cry “HOORAH!”
While
we were based at Camp Mercy they were building a new Marine Base
on the northern part of the Island, which they named Camp Swab. I
cannot remember the exact month but I believe it was in July or
August of 1959 when the 3rd Recon Bn. became the first
unit to occupy the new base. We were there to greet the 5th
Marine Regiment when they arrived there from Camp Pendleton, in
late August. In fact I recall a few unpleasant skirmishes with
the newly arrived 5th Marines over who would control
the EM Club that we felt we owned. In fact the base MPs (members
of the 5th Marine Regt.) came to
break up a disturbance once and some of us Recon troops hopped
into their OD’s jeep and made a run for our barracks with the MPs
on foot not far behind. But we managed to ditch them and dispose
of the jeep. I wonder if my old Sergeants Jablonski and Creager
are reading this if they are I know they are getting a chuckle
out of this memory since they were in the jeep with me. I don’t
know who the OD was and thankful I never found out.
Around this time some of our strongest swimmers were selected for
scuba training at the Third Marine Division Scuba School. At the
end of December of “59” the best of those graduates were sent on
to the Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit Underwater
swimmers school at West Lock, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. After a
months training they rejoined our unit on Okinawa as an elite
underwater recon team in February 1960.
On August 23, 1958 The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) started a bombardment campaign of Qumoy and Matsu Islands in the Straits of Formosa from the mainland. Although these Islands are a very short distance from the Mainland and from the Mainland they are visible to the naked eye they are claimed territory of the Nationalist Chinese on Taiwan. The Straits separate Taiwan and Mainland China by about 90 miles. The United States sent the Seventh Fleet and it’s Marines into the Straits on patrol between Matsu Island and the Mainland of China. Air Force and Army troops were sent to the main Island of Taiwan to help beef up their defenses. Since that time the PRC have continued the harassment of the Nationalist Chinese people on Taiwan and hostile acts by the mainland have continued to this day.
In 1960 President Eisenhower’s administration determined that a show of force was in order to demonstrate to the PRC that the US and its allies stood ready to prevent a hostile takeover by the PRC, and were perfectly capable of defending the independence of the Nationalist Chinese on Taiwan or the Republic of China (ROC). Commanders of the US 7th fleet, Third Marine Division, Fourth Marine Brigade from Hawaii and the Nationalist Chinese Navy, Air Force and Marines put together a multi-national training exercise which was to be a mock invasion of Taiwan to repel an enemy force assumed to have invaded Taiwan. (Sort of a dress rehearsal you might say.) Elements of the 3rd Recon Bn. Would play a major roll in this operation.
The First Marine Expeditionary Force made up of the Fourth Marine Brigade from Hawaii and commanded by Lt. General Thomas A. Wornham USMC was moved to Camp Mercy, Okinawa (formerly occupied by the 3rd Recon Battalion) in January 1960 for preparatory training as part of the defending force for the exercise, which was to take place on the southwestern coast of Taiwan beginning around the ancient city of Tainan and extending down the coastline to the southern tip of Taiwan. The defense of Taiwan was to be a joint effort between the First Marine Expeditionary Force and ROC Marines commanded by ROC Marine Lt. Col. Shih Ke-hsin.
Although this was to be a training exercise, there were real obstacles to be encountered. The invasion area they were to occupy and defend was rugged mountainous terrain. On most of the landing beaches it was only about the length of a football field before you began the steep incline of the mountains. The area was infested with poisonous snakes and many Marines would complain about the stings of the centipedes in their footwear and sleeping bags. The temperatures had been exceeding 90 degrees for days and there were high winds carrying blinding clouds of dust.
In addition to this operation, Taiwan was on alert for Communist raiding parties, which have been plaguing them since the onset of the bombings. Specific boundaries were set in place for members of the War Games to operate within and anyone outside those boundaries were subject to be shot on sight by the Taiwanese authorities if mistaken for communist raiders. We (the invasion force) were briefed on what our mission was to be and warned that Chinese Communist gun boats some disguised as fishing trawlers would in all likelihood be in the area observing our fleet operations. We were told that small clandestine communist military units could be on the main island of Taiwan to observe us in action. We were cautioned that we should avoid contact at all costs. Given that we were operating in the Straits, which only separate Taiwan from China by 90 miles, and relations between the US and PRC were non-existent, we were all made well aware that very unpleasant long-term incarceration could result from such contact.
The invasion force was made up of The Third Marine Division reinforced by a ROC Marine Regiment, backed by 130 warships from the US 7th fleet and about 20 ROC warships supported by US Marine and ROC air units. Rear Admiral Charles O. Triebel, USN, and Brigadier General Louis B. Robertshaw, USMC commanded the invasion forces. The invasion troops numbered about 25,000 Americans and Chinese. The entire operation consisted of about 60,000 service men from both countries. This expeditionary force was considered to be the largest invasion force put together since the invasion of Okinawa in WW II. When this armada formed off the coast of Taiwan it stretched out for twelve miles. They called this exercise "Operation Blue Star".
The First Marine Expeditionary Force and their ROC Marine counterparts were in place and ready to defend the objective by March 18, 1960. According to the plan the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment was to land on Blue beach near the village of Hakou and the 2nd Battalion would land on White beach near Cheh Cheng. They were to take the high ground 6 to 10 miles into the rugged hills. The Chinese Marines of Regimental Landing Team 2 were to hit Green beach at Feng Chan 10 miles to the north of their US Marine counterparts with their objectives also 10 miles into the rugged hills. After these objectives were taken, the Marines at White beach were to push south to join forces with yet another Marine assault force, (1st Battalion 9th Marines) who were to test a new military tactic called “Vertical Envelopment” by being air lifted to Ken-ting and Hung Chung at the extreme southern tip of Taiwan by Helicopters from the flight deck of the USS Princeton to secure this simulated deep-water port and cut it off from the enemy forces.
The 3rd Marine Division Construction engineers were assigned the task of landing behind the infantry and constructing a 4000-foot metal runway for jets, which was about 2000 feet shorter than normal. They were given 72 hours to accomplish this mission. Arresting gear for landings and jet assisted take-off apparatus were used to enable the jets to fly sorties from these fields.
It was about March 14, 1960 when we were assembled into briefing rooms and the plans for our missions during Operation Blue star were laid out. There were eight of our newly trained swimmers identified and divided into two 3-man teams and one 2-man team. The swimmers were Mike McDaniels, Paul Vibe, Jim Pinkinton, James Peterson, John Chambers, David Hare, Roy Carter and Jerry Armstrong.
Each of the three teams was assigned separate pre invasion missions along the southwestern coast of Taiwan. Team 1 was given Blue Beach at Hakou with the objective to swim ashore perform a beach recon, plot enemy defensive positions and move inland to establish an observation post and report air activities at the airfield south of Tainan. Team 2 was to swim ashore on White Beach at Cheh Cheng, establish an outpost, identify and report enemy emplacements and actives and report height and length of the waves and report traffic at a near by air field. The third team was to swim ashore at the southern tip of Taiwan and make preparations in the Ken-ting and Hung Chung area to establish the landing zones for the helicopter assault force.
3rd
Platoon Charlie Company (our platoon) was divided up into three
Recon teams. There were two 9-man teams and a 5-man team. Each
team was assigned their own inflatable rubber boat. One nine man
team was lead by our platoon leader 1st Lt. Kenneth A. McNutt the
other nine man team was lead by our platoon sergeant, Gunnery
Sergeant Heistler and the five man team was lead by Acting
Sergeant Ernest G. Ross. I was on the five-man team. The other
three-team mates were PFC Robert L. Westover, PFC Gerald R.
Goodman and Private Karl E Thompson.
We were given a pre invasion nighttime landing mission in rubber boats on White Beach to reinforce the swim teams and continue to locate the enemy defenses, estimate their numbers identify obstacles and mines; then report back to the fleet with this information prior to the invasion. Following the invasion we were to join with 2nd Battalion 3rd Marines and render them assistance in any reconnaissance missions they had need of.
On March 15, 1960 the three swim teams boarded the
USS Cook APD 130 at White Beach Okinawa en-route to the Formosa
Straits. They were accompanied by the Navy’s first platoon of
Underwater Demolition Team 11 Commanded by LTJG. T. Devine. On
the 16th of March our platoon followed suit and
boarded the USS Herbert J. Thomas DDR 833 en-route to the Formosa
Straits.
After
boarding the ship and assigned our sleeping quarters, we were
integrated with the ships crew and assigned to various duties on
board the ship. I was approached by Lt. McNutt and Sgt Heistler
and advised that they were assigning me to work in the ships mess
and I was instructed to pilfer as much non-perishable food items
from the ships stores as I could with out being caught so we
would not have to eat c-rations while in the field. I proceeded
to befriend the Navy Second Class Petty Officer in charge of the
mess. In addition to what I could steal, He provided me with such
goodies as canned lunchmeat; canned hams, canned Bacon, turkey,
fresh potatoes, carrots onions etc. Each day I would bring the
loot to the rest of the platoon and they would divide it up and
hide it until it was time for us to disembark. Since I was the
one who commandeered the food and there were only 5 of us in our
boat to paddle, the two nine man boat crews agreed to carry the stolen
goodies on their boats.
On this particular mission they determined we needed some additional firepower and I was required to carry my BAR complete with bi-pod, which weighed a little over 20 pounds not counting the additional weight of the 10 20-round magazines. One man on each of the other boats were also armed with BARs. Our boats were 18 ft long for the 9-man crews and 14 ft long for the one 5-man crew. They were inflatable boats made of nylon and rubber, which we had to inflate just prior to departure from the ship. Each boat was equipped with either 6 or 9 paddles depending on the crew size, a hand pump for inflating the boat, a PRC 10 Radio with battery and a pair of binoculars. We each had a small field pack with extra items of clothing, toiletries and two days rations. We had our weapons a K Bar (Marine combat knife) and a poncho and two canteens of water (2 pints). Each team leader had a compass and a map of the area we were landing at.
Meanwhile on board the Cook the swim teams had their own logistical problems to resolve. When they were to swim ashore they only wore their air tanks, facemask, swimsuit, swim fins over tennis shoes , web belt snd K-Bar. They wore tennis shoes to get over the coral that protected the beach. So once ashore they would need other provisions, equipment and dry clothes plus they had to have a radio and weapons. So they first placed the items they needed with them into what we called “Willie Peter bags” nick name for Waterproof or WP Bag. Then they placed the gear into large AGR/9 radio cans along with some weight to neutralize the buoyancy of the cans so they could be easily pulled along as they swam to shore. They could not carry grease guns with fully loaded magazines so instead they carried 45 cal. pistols. They used the PRC 10 radios with extra batteries.
It was a moonless night with slight cloud cover and pitch black out side on Saturday, March 19, 1960 and about 2200 hours when the USS Cook arrived about two miles from the shore of the southern coast of Taiwan. The ship was not burning its running lights and was in total black out conditions traveling parallel to the coastline from south to north. The ship stopped briefly at the southern tip of the Island as swim team number three silently slipped into the water with all their gear and headed for shore on their mission. Getting back under way the ship continued north to White beach at Cheh Cheng remaining about two miles off shore and once again it came to a complete stop as Jerry Armstrong and David Hare, swim team number two slipped into the water with all their gear and headed for shore. Underway once again the Cook headed for its final drop off point at Blue beach near Hakou here the last team of three swimmers were dropped off and the ship departed the area with out any knowledge that a strong north to south current along the shore line would create an immense obstacle for the swimmers.
Each of the swim teems were given laminated safe conduct passes in case they ran into any trouble due to the high state of alert on Taiwan because of the communists raids. They were assigned a one hundred yard wide stench on the beach within which they were cleared for entry into the country. Anyone outside the boundary was considered the real enemy by the Taiwanese and fair game to shoot on site.
Swim team number three were almost swept beyond the southern tip of the island and barely made land. Swim team number 1 at Blue beach was also swept many miles south of their designated boundaries and once ashore they had to adapt and avoid a confrontation with Taiwanese outside the designated 100 yard entry area and get back to their assigned areas to complete their mission. The main landing forces recovered both these teams on D Day.
At White Beach there was a light on shore to guide Jerry Armstrong and David Hare to shore within the designated boundary. However, they could not make their designated landing area by swimming against the current towards the light and finally decided to break south and get to shore any way they could. They landed three miles south of their landing area at about 0300 on the 20th after about 5 hours in the water. The landing area was a coral cliff about 20 feet high which they had to climb. They were both cut up pretty badly in the legs arms and hands but they made it to a secure hiding place. They stowed their AGR/9 boxes and spent the first day ashore in their hiding place to avoid being spotted by local military outside their designated entry areas until about 2000 hours on the night of the 20th. Then during the night they moved to a new location where they were within their designated area and close to the beach and could still observe the airfield.
On Monday March 21, 1960 the USS H. J. Thomas joined with the
Cruisers USS Eldorado, USS St Paul, USS Helena and other ships to
form a squadron of American and ROC war ships off the southern
coast of Taiwan. As the gun turrets all began to turn pointing
towards the shore, I had just completed clean up from the
mourning mess and was released to go topside and watch the show.
There were targets along the shoreline marked with large white Xs
including some small shacks. This was about to become an exciting
demonstration of the firepower of the Seventh Fleet Reinforced by
the ROC Navy.
This
was to be the only part of Operation Blue Star where live rounds
would be used. We were cruising about two miles off the
shoreline. I settled in on a portion of the superstructure that
was just about 5 feet from the muzzle of the forward 5-inch guns.
As I sat there some sailors yelled at me to move away from there
and I just ignored them thinking they wanted my seat. After the
first shot I knew what they were trying to tell me. The blast
almost knocked me down to the next deck and I felt like I was sun
burned from head to toe. I moved in a hurry. I could
not hear much for a long time after that. In fact I suffered a
permanent partial hearing loss in my left ear and tinnitus still
lingers to this day. They began bombarding targets on shore as
various Marine and Chinese Air units joined in. It was a
spectacular display.
Armstrong and Hare had remained in their position until dark on the 21st. then at about 2000 hours after dark they made their way down to the beach getting there around 2100 hours. At this point it was raining hard and the winds were picking up pretty bad. They made their observations on the wave height and length and radioed in their report around 2300 hours and recommended that the landings be postponed for at least 24 hours due to the high seas and poor landing conditions. As they were returning to their OP they stumbled upon a Taiwan security patrol that took them into administrative custody until their credentials could be confirmed. They never recovered their AGR/9 boxes. They were taken to a large staging area of aggressors and a General came in and cancelled their mission and they were later returned to the landing forces.
Mean time on board the H. J Thomas our platoon was busy the night of the 21st making ready for our scheduled 0100 landing at White Beach on the morning of the 22nd. Our ship was approaching the coastline in full blackout conditions. We were inflating the boats and loading our gear in the boats and receiving last minute instructions and painting each other’s face with camouflage paint. The seas were rough and the swells were about 12 feet high it was raining hard we were all wearing our ponchos and freezing cold. The wind was blowing in the range of 40 to 50 mph in a northwesterly direction. As we approached our area of operation the bow of the ship was rising high into the air then dropping suddenly as we crossed over the swells. We finally arrived at our debarkation point and the ship came to a stop.
We were about 1000 yards from shore and it was about a 0100 hours when the ships Executive Officer conferred with our platoon leader Lt. McNutt and advised him that our swim teams were recommending a 24 hour postponement of the mission due to the high seas. Lt. McNutt in a stern and confident voice advised the Executive Officer that we were "Marines" and that we could accomplish the mission as we were well trained in this sort of operation. After much debate the the Executive Officer came back and advised that the ship's Captain agreed to allow us to proceed with the mission. We finished loading our boats and proceeded to disembark. As we lowered our boats into the water the ship would pitch up and down with the swells. Our boats would drop from deck level to about 12 feet below deck then rise back up to deck level and back down again. So when we jumped into the boats we would wait until the boats would start back up towards the deck and jump and meet the boat as it came up to deck level. This was particularly difficult for me since my weapon was a BAR and incredibly cumbersome and I was carrying twelve 20 round magazines to boot.
Gunnery
Sgt. Heisler's crew was the first boat to depart, then Lt.
McNutt's boat, and we left last. By the time we got into the
water, the other two boats had disappeared into the darkness of
the moonless night. As soon as we pushed away, the destroyer
departed back out to sea (with all its lights out) to re-join the
fleet, never to be seen by us again. We began paddling as hard as
we could towards the same light that Jerry Armstrong and Dave
Hare had used to guide them when they swam ashore.
Sgt Heisler's nine-man crew made it to shore successfully and once it was apparent to them what the rest of us were not going to make it to shore they went on to complete the mission without us. The two remaining boats were not able to make land. The winds and the currents were more than we could over come. About 10 hours later at 1710 Hours on the 22nd a Japanese fishing boat called the Kotoshiro Maru, 16 miles from the southern tip of Taiwan picked up Lt. McNutt and his 9 man crew, about sixty miles from our original debarkation point at Cheh Cheng. They were transferred to the USS Pope County, a 7th fleet LST, and were returned to our unit at White Beach.
As we paddled our boat the weather continued to get worse and the seas got to be up to about 18 feet high and coming at us from two different angles. We paddled with out stopping until well after sun up knowing full well that if we were not able to get to shore we would be in serious danger. By now we were exhausted, wet, cold, angry and scared.
While all this was going on, The USS Cook was back in the area with the Navy UDT-11 team led by LTJG. Devine and elements of UDT-12. They had placed about 15 pairs of swimmers in the water off white beach conducting an unannounced swimmer attack on the anchored amphibious invasion fleet.
After daylight we were not able to see land. The swells were picking up to about 30 ft feet by now and it was a constant battle just to keep the boat from capsizing. We had to fight the waves continuously by turning the bow of the boat into each wave before it hit to prevent the wave from capsizing the boat. As each swell passed it would turn us sideways and we would have to quickly turn the bow of the boat into the next swell. Sgt Ross was at the back of the boat using his paddle as a tiller to steer the boat and the rest of us just paddled desperately. I was able to make radio contact with someone very early just after dawn and could barely hear him and I advised him we were lost at sea and our location was unknown. The radio soon became incapacitated from the water damage and that was the last radio contact we had.
By now D-day had been postponed and 29 of the US Navy invading ships were dispatched to search for us along with a number of ROC Naval vessels. This was near disaster for the UDT men who were under these ships by now making their attacks. Not knowing there were men in the water several ships got under way looking for us resulting in some near misses and causing some long walks home. One pair of swimmers was about 20 feet from the screws of the USS Tulare an AKA doing a stern attack, when she got underway, the prop wash sent the pair tumbling. They along with others got swept south by the strong current and barely landed on the point to the extreme south of the landing beaches. Carrying all their diving gear they had to walk back about twenty miles to white beach for pick up. LTJG. Devine was making an attack on the Cruiser USS Eldorado ADC-11 and was hanging off the gangway ladder when she started to weigh anchor. Fortunately he was able to reach his pick up boat for return to the Cook.
At mid-day a swell crashed into our boat and washed Sgt. Ross out into the sea. Our PRC 10 radio had a long coiled cord attached to the handset. I would say that when it was stretched out, it was about 20 feet long. Any way, when Ross was washed out of the boat the radio hand set got tangled around his ankle and we were able to pull him back in. I was amazed to see he still had his glasses on. By mid afternoon we were totally exhausted but still had to keep going to keep the boat from capsizing.
We all realized that we needed something in addition to our physical abilities to get through this and we began to pray together. As I recall we were able to recite the Lords prayer and 23rd psalm as best we could remember. By nightfall the sea had calmed down enough that we no longer needed to paddle and could rest. God answers prayer. The first few hours after dark we could see lights from ships far into the distance and we would try to paddle our boat to them but they would just drift over the horizon and out of sight. Finally we decided to set up a 2-hour night watch schedule so someone could watch for passing ships, not only in hopes of rescue but to avoid being run over by them. And the rest of us could get some sleep. We inflated our may west life vests, which wrapped around our necks and kept our heads afloat in the water filled boat so we would not drown in our sleep and we settled in for the night.
As day light appeared the next day, the 23rd, we tried to clean the grease paint from our faces with sea water and all it did was run into our eyes, burn and blur our vision. We were soaking wet and very cold. We began to assess our situation, inventory our gear and plan for our survival. We figured we were in for a very long voyage and may have to survive for weeks or months before we were found. We each had two canteens of fresh water, and we thought that it would last us about 30 days if we rationed it. Unfortunately the cork seals in the canteen caps leaked and our water was soon contaminated with seawater. We had two days of c-rations each. (The goodies I pilfered from the ships mess was on the other nine man boats). By rationing the c-rations we had about 35 days of food, or maybe more. We decided since we each had six meals that we could split one meal per day (about 700 calories), five ways, which would make our rations last about 35 days. We fashioned the top of a c- ration can into a makeshift mirror in hopes of flashing a passing ship but the skies were overcast and it did not work too well. One of us had a "Scripto" cigarette lighter that had a fishhook inside the transparent fluid reservoir so we tried to rig up a crude fishing line but we were unsuccessful. The hook was a small fishing fly and we could not make a line to fit it. We arranged our gear to make it more compact and discarded a few items in the boat that were of no use to our survival to make room for a long stay in the boat. This included dumping my BAR. About all it was good for was an anchor but we had no rope to attach it to anyway. Unfortunately there was no signaling device such as flairs on board, only the disabled radio. But we had hopes it would dry out and become operational again soon.
We were not the only ones suffering grave danger this day in Taiwan. Unknown to us at the time eighteen Taiwanese school children were trying to get to school that morning and were on board a ferry crossing the Cjiukang River about 40 miles south of Taipei when the ferry capsized from the high winds and rough waters. A middle aged woman and all 18 of the children drowned. I often wonder why God spared us instead of those little children.
My parents received the following Telegram dated March 23, 1960:
HEWITT, JAMES R. JR. XXXXXXX
MR. AND MRS. JAMES R. HEWITT SR.
GENERAL DELIVERY
LAKE ISABELLA, CALIF.
I DEEPLY REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT YOU’RE SON PRIVATE JAMES R. HEWITT JR. USMC IS MISSING. HE WAS EMBARKED ON A RUBBER RAFT ENGAGED IN MANEUVERS OFF TAIPEI FORMOSA 23 MARCH 1960. SEARCH AND AIR RECOVERY OPERATIONS ARE IN PROGRESS. EVERY EFFORT IS BEING MADE TO LOCATE HIM. YOU WILL BE KEPT ADVISED AS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IS RECEIVED. I EXTEND TO YOU ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY DURING THIS PERIOD OF ANXIETY.
DAVID M. SHOUP
GENERAL USMC
COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
At midmorning we saw an air craft carrier we
believed to be the USS Midway, and it passed us by so close that
we could see the sailors on deck and hear them talking. We tried
every thing we could to get their attention. The c-ration mirror
did no good because of overcast skies. We tied our white tee
shirts to our paddles and waved them as the ship passed by, but
the seas were still a little rough and they didn't see us. Soon
the ship disappeared over the horizon. The sight of the ship
disappearing over the horizon was the most demoralizing moment of
the entire ordeal. ( Later we learned that the carrier was the
Bon Homme Richard) We began to sing songs we
all knew from childhood and told tales to each other to keep
occupied. A few religious songs came into the mix as we recalled
some of our Sunday school days as kids.
Later that afternoon, a school of large fish (in retrospect we think Porpoises) began hitting our boat. Man was that a scary deal. Some of these fish were longer than our boat. After we got used to them we started dropping chewed gum and stuff in the water to see if they would try to eat it. We kind of played with them for awhile. They carried on like this all the rest of the evening and on into the night. As night came the seas began to calm. We set up our watches, and settled in for the night. Karl Thompson had the last watch for the night.
On the dawn of the 24th, We were all huddled together in the bottom of the boat sound asleep as we got some comfort from what little body heat we could generate while still soaked to the bone. We were suddenly awakened by Karl’s shouts, “LAND! LAND!" . As we looked up, sure enough, there was land. As the sun was just barely showing on the eastern horizon, we could see the faint outline of a large mountain on the distant northwestern horizon. We also noticed that the sea was totally calm, smooth as a sheet of glass. We all knew that this might be our last chance at survival and although we did not know where we were we were sure we could reach this land in spite of the distance.
We studied the landscape and we knew from sea
level that the horizon was about 18 miles away. The shoreline and
base of the mountain was not visible and beyond the horizon, so
we knew that the shore was beyond 18 miles, probably more in the
neighbor hood of 30 miles. We tried to determine how far we had
drifted based on what we thought the speed of the current was. We
came up with a guess that we traveled about 107 miles so far.
Even though we had a compass, up until now there were no
identifiable reference points and our map was only of the area we
were supposed to have landed at so we had no idea which direction
we had drifted. Based on what we did know, we concluded that
there was a good chance that the land we could see was Mainland
China, under communist control or possibly part of the mainland
south of China because we started out 90 miles east of China and
on the western side of Taiwan. So the only land west of where we
started was China. We were convinced that if this was the case
and the communists apprehended us, we could be placed in a prison
camp for a long period, even years while our governments sorted
it all out, and got us free. After much debate, we concluded that
we would risk incarceration as opposed to possible death at sea.
We were sure
that with the skills we had mastered at living off the land in
previous training missions that we could eat much better on land
and we were confident that our training in escape and evasion
would enable us to avoid capture by the Red Chinese Army.
So we shared a meal got things organized in the
boat and prepared our selves for a hard days work paddling. We
started just after dawn paddling
towards the land mass. Sgt Ross was at the stern using his paddle
as a rudder and he counted cadence at a reasonable steady pace in
a monotone voice as
we paddled in unison to his cadence. (I guess you could say we
had a 14 foot four person-power boat.) It took hours of paddling
just to get close enough to see the shoreline.
As we began to approach the shore we could see
people in the rocks and on the shore through our binoculars. They
appeared to be wearing brown clothing and carrying weapons which
tended to confirm our worst fears. These had to be Chinese Reds.
We continued to paddle in to shore and we landed about 1400 hours
(about 9 hours of hard paddling). As we got closer to shore, we
realized that these
people
were dark brown skinned Aborigines wearing loin clothes and spear
fishing. We had mistaken their dark skin for military
uniforms and their fishing spears for military weapons.
As we paddled to shore we dragged our boat up on the very rocky beach, we set up a perimeter with our weapons drawn, not knowing whether we were on mainland China, or not. We began sorting out our gear and equipment and getting organized. The fishing Aborigines acted very friendly, and began to gather around us out of curiosity but remained standoffish. There was a language barrier that was difficult to overcome. From our time stationed on Okinawa we all had developed a token Japanese, vocabulary. They seemed to understand some of our attempts to communicate using our limited knowledge of Japanese, but our communication was not very effective. These people were using a tongue we had never heard before. I think they knew somehow we were American because one of them left the area and came back some while later with a Chinese gentleman wearing a pith helmet and dressed in kakis. At first we thought he was some kind of local official or policeman. He spoke perfect English and welcomed us to Hung Tow Hsui Island. He informed us that he had graduated from a California State University and was a geologist working out of Taipei and we were safe on an island possession of Taiwan. I cannot remember the gentleman’s name now but he was very helpful and no telling what would have happened if he had not been there to assist us.
Hung Tou Hsui lies about 40 miles off southeastern coast of Taiwan and is the last of a string of islands coming up from the Philippine Islands. When we drifted south along the western coast of Taiwan we drifted from the straights into the South China Sea and were picked up by a northern current from the Philippine Sea and started drifting in a northeasterly direction until we were back in the Pacific south east of Hung Tou Hsui, which was a total distance of about 125 miles. Had we missed this Island we would have drifted out into the pacific in a northeasterly direction and away from any other landmass for many miles and well outside of the search area.
We were told by our new found friend that two miles to the south of where we landed was one of the aborigines three main villages on the island and that there was a Taiwan military liaison officer living among them there that may be able to assist us in contacting our military officials. Sergeant Ross instructed us to remain with our boat and equipment while he accompanied the geologist to the village to confer with this military officer.
Some
time had passed after Sgt Ross left for the village and a large
primitive canoe with many oarsmen appeared off the coast coming
from the south. Upon arrival they produced a long and thick
hemp rope and through signs, they indicated that
they wanted to tow us to their village. Thinking that they were
sent by Ross to get us, we ignored Sgt Ross's instructions
to wait for him there, loaded our boat and tied it to their
canoe. They proceeded to tow us to their village. On the way to
the village we saw Sgt Ross heading back to where we had landed,
and we soon found out that he had not sent these people to tow us
and that it was simply their idea. Needless to say, Ross was very
upset and didn’t mind yelling at us from shore that we were in
big trouble for not waiting for him. He soon got over it and
forgave us.
When we
approached the village in tow behind the large canoe, there were
young women many of whom displayed red stained teeth dancing and a group of school-aged children formed two
lines from the beach to the entrance to the village. I noticed
that some of them were wearing western clothes and one
had an
American Cub Scout uniform shirt on that still had all the
patches on it. I knew then, that they were in some fashion, being
supplied with some type of American aid. They were all excited
and seemed happy to welcome us to their village. As we walked up
the beach between the two lines of children, the little
schoolteacher led them in singing in their
language to the tune of
"God Bless America".
Our new friend told us that they learned this from the American
missionaries that come every week by boat, to conduct church
services. The clothing they were wearing was from care packages
the missionaries brought them.
The aborigines on this island are "Yamis" and of a Polynesian race. They were very primitive people and the men wore only loincloths and sometimes a sleeveless and button less vest they are a modest and humble people who live on a diet of fish, taro root and sweet potatoes. Their favorite fish is the flying fish, which is abundant there. Occasionally they will slaughter a pig for a special celebration. Their homes are built mostly below ground in a special fashion with their roofs positioned against the prevailing winds to protect them from Typhoons. Many of them chew an addictive leaf called "Beetle Nut" which stains their teeth red.
Sgt Ross had conferred with the army liaison
officer in the village, who agreed to have us taken to a ROC military
outpost on the other side of the island. We were told it was a
long and difficult journey on foot over the mountain. He formed a
group of Yamis and they put our gear on long poles. With one
litter Bearer on each end of the poles, they carried our gear for
us leaving our boat at the village.
The island rose straight up out of the sea and consisted of one steep mountain. There was a trial that zig-zagged back and forth up up the side of the mountain so that you can climb it with out complete exhaustion. Even so it took us many hours to reach our destination. We traveled the rest of the day and way into the night before we arrived exhausted, cold and hungry at a larger village, which was located next to several small western style concrete buildings situated within a large fenced and well lighted compound.
When we arrived we were escorted into a large community type open structure in the village which was covered with a thatched roof. It was some sort of a community gathering place and inside there were large kettle like iron containers of water heated by hot rocks. The village women bathed us in the huge containers of hot water and gave us each a clean set of white pajama type garments to wear. Afterwards we were escorted into the fenced compound and taken to what appeared to be the administrative building of a military base.
We
were taken into a Chinese Colonel’s office and seated around a
large table with the Colonel seated at the head of the table.
A large meal featuring fried eggs as the main course was prepared
for us. The English Speaking Geologist remained with us and
interpreted for us as we explained our circumstances to the
Colonel. After we ate, the Colonel advised us that
he could radio his headquarters in Taipei and ask them to notify
the Americans where we were
or we could wait about a month until the next supply ship came in
and go back to Taiwan on it. We tried to talk Sgt Ross into
waiting for the supply ship so we could have a little vacation.
However, Ross was married and did not want his wife to have to
worry any longer than necessary, so we chose the latter. It would
not have worked anyway because a bulletin was about to come out
about our being missing and the Colonel would have had to respond
to it anyway.
The Colonel took a liking to my "K- Bar", and asked what I wanted in trade for it. K Bars were easy to come by then and It was an offer I could not refuse. There were several large Chinese magazines on a nearby desk that intrigued me so I asked for the magazines in trade.
The Colonel removed some of his officers from their quarters and bedded us down in their place. (We learned later that he thought we were Marine Officers from a downed American aircraft). The following day the following message was issued by the US Military:
TO FLEACTS RYUKYUS
COMTAIWANDEVCOM/US
COMNAVFOR JAPAN
COMNAVPHIL
INFO CGFMFPAC
CG FIRST MAW
CGTHIRD MARDIV
CTF 74
CTF 71
CHINFO
BLUE STAR CIB FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE X TWENTY SEVEN SHIPS OF THE SEVENTH FLT WITH THE FIXED WING AIRCRAFT OF PATROL SQUADRON 40, USS BON HOMME RICHARD, FIRST MARINE AIR WING AND MARINE HELICOPTERS FROM THE USS PRINCETON ARE PRESENTLY SEARCHING FOR FIVE MEN IN A RUBBER BOAT WHICH WAS LAUNCHED FROM A DESTROYER EARLY 22 MARCH NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN TAIWAN X IT HAS BEEN ASSUMED THAT THESE MEN WERE SWEPT TO SEA BY WIND AND CURRENTS SINCE NINE OTHERS IN A SIMILAR BOAT WERE RECOVERED BY A JAPANESE FISHING BOAT JUST PRIOR TO SUNSET 22 MARCH X THESE MEN WERE ALL ATTACHED TO C COMPANY 3RD RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION AND WERE LAUNCHED TO CONDUCT SIMULATED CLANDESTINE OPERATIONS ASHORE DURING THE AMPHIBIOUS EXERCISE BLUE STAR X LIEUTENANT KENNETH MCNUTT USMC THE PLATOON COMMANDER IS ONE OF THE NINE MARINES RECOVERED BY THE JAPANESE FISHING BOAT STATED THAT THE BOAT CONTAINED SUFFICIENT FOOD AND WATER TO SUSTAIN THESE MEN FOR CONSIDERABLE PERIOD OF TIME X THE BOAT WAS EQUIPPED WITH A HAND PUMP FOR INFLATING THE BOAT, A RADIO, SIX PADDLES, AND EACH OF THE MARINES HAD WITH THEM TWO FULL CANTEENS OF WATER, TWO FULL DAYS RATIONS, A KNIFE, FIRST AID KIT AN INFLATABLE LIFE PRESERVER, EXTRA CLOTHING AND A PONCHO THE TEAM COMMANDER CARRIED A MAGNETIC COMPASS AND A MAP OF SOUTHERN TAIWAN X PROVIDING THAT THESE MEN REACHED SHORE ON 22 MARCH THEY WERE EQUIPPED TO OPERATE IN THE AREA WITH OUT SUPPORT FOR AT LEAST TWO DAYS AT WHICH THEY WERE TO JOIN UP WITH THE 3RD MARINE DIVISION WHICH STORMED THE BEACHES ON D-DAY OF THE AMPHIBIOUS TASK FORCE X THE METHODICAL SEARCH IS CONTINUING VIGOROUSLY X THE SHIPS AND AIR CRAFT ARE LISTENING CONTINUOUSLY ON THE FREQUENCY THAT THE RADIO HELD BY THE MARINES WILL TRANSMIT X THE SEA IS CALM AND THE WIND IS LIGHT IN THE AREA X THIS INCREASES THE CHANCES OF SIGHTING AND RECOVERING THESE MEN IF THEY ARE ADRIFT AT SEA.
On the mourning of the 25th after
breakfast, we were out in the
compound of the outpost when we saw a squadron of single engine
US Navy Skyraiders flying in a search pattern along the beach
to the north. A Navy PBY flew overhead. We ran into the barracks and
grabbed some bed sheets and using them like panels we tried to spell out Marines
on the the
ground. As soon as we created the "M" the Navy PBY
returned and dived down and buzzed us, then flew off rocking
his wings as he flew away. About 15 minutes later a US Marine
helicopter from the USS Princeton
landed and the pilot, a Marine
captain got out, ran to us and gave us all a big hug then said, "get aboard. guys."
When we told him we needed to get our gear and the boat on the
other side of the island he said, "forget the gear and the damn
boat the commandant is looking for you guys".
When we returned to Taiwan we were interviewed by Lt. General Lucky, commanding general of the Third Marine Division, who stated that he knew all along that his well-trained Marines would make it. I apologized for throwing out my BAR, and he told me that I did the right thing and he was just glad to have us back.
P250420Z
COMTAIWANDEFCOM/US
COMNAVFORJAPAN
COMNAVPHIL
CG FIRSTMAW
CGTHIRD MARDIV
CTF 74
CTF17
COMSEVENTHFLT
CINCPACFLT
CHINFO
BT
BLUE STAR FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE X FIVE MISSING MARINES FOUND ON HUNG TOU HSUI ISLAND FORTY MILES EAST OF SOUTHERN TAIWAN X REPORTED IN GOOD SHAPE X DETAILS TO FOLLOW WHEN KNOWN X NAMES SUBJECT TO VERIFICATION ARE ERNEST G. ROSS ASGT, GERALD R. GOODMAN PFC, ROBERT L. WESTOVER PFC, CARL E THOMPSON PVT, JAMES R. HEWITT PVT. THE THIRTY ODD US AND CHINESE SHIPS AND THE NUMEROUS NAVAL AIRCRAFT CONDUCTED A SEARCH COVERING FIFTY THOUSAND SQUARE MILES AND MANY UNINHABITED ROCKS AND ISLANDS BEFORE SUCCESS X SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT NOW RESUME THEIR OPERATIONS IN EXERCISE BLUE STAR AND NORMAL FAR EAST EMPLOYMENT.
BT
DIST 007 COG
~
25 MAR 60
P250716Z
FM COMDESFLOT ONE
TO FLTACTS RYUKYUS
COMTAIWANDEFCOM/US
COMNAVFOR JAPAN
COMNAVPHIL
INFO CG FMFPAC
CGFIRSTMAW
CG THIRD MARDIV
CTF 74 CTF71 COMSEVENTHFLT
CINCPACFLT
CHINFO
NAVY GRNC
BT
CIB BLUE STAR FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE X MY 250420Z X NAMES CONFIRMED X AT 0900 THIS MORNING HELOS OF MARINE AIR GROUP SIXTEEN CHECKED OUT REPORT FROM CHINESE POLICE THAT MEN MIGHT BE ON HUNG TIOU HSUI X THEY WERE X SEARCH HAD BEEN COVERING POSSIBILITY THAT MEN MIGHT HAVE SAILED RAFT TO AN ISLAND TO EASTWARD RATHER THAN DRIFT TOWARDS ASIAN MAINLAND X WHEN THE SEARCH ENDED 29 US SHIPS, ELEVEN CHINESE, PLUS PLANES FROM CARRIER BON HOMME RICHARD FROM GUAM AND FROM FIRST MARINE AIR WING PLUS HELOS FROM CARRIER PRINCETON WERE ENGAGED IN ALL OUT SEARCH X MAX SEA AIR RESCUE EFFORT ALWAYS MADE WHEN POSSIBILITY EXISTS THAT OUR MEN MAY BE SAVED
BT
DISTRICT 007 COG
~
GENERAL DELIVERY
LAKE ISABELLA, CALIF.
THIS MESSAGE CONFIRMS THE TELEPHONE CONVERSATION OF 24 MARCH 1960. I AM PLEASED TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR SON IS SAFE AND IN GOOD PHYSICAL CONDITION. IT IS PRESUMED HE WILL CORRESPOND WITH YOU IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
DAVID M. SHOUP
GENERAL USMC
COMMANDANT OF THE MARINE CORPS
When we returned to our unit
at Kaohsiung, Taiwan our buddies
were glad to see us. When I informed the others how fortunate I
was to have lost my BAR, and not have to lug it around any more,
a Barman from one of the other boats promptly produced a BAR and
showed me the serial number. Much to my dismay, it was my BAR.
This grateful Marine pointed out that I had taken his by mistake
in the dark. So I had to lug that thing around for the rest of
the mission. We asked if there was any more of the good chow that
I had so skillfully commandeered from the ships mess and they
said " we didn't think you guys would make it, so we ate it
all", with big smiles on their faces.
On March 29, 1960 Operation Blue star concluded and our unit proceeded to Blue Beach at Hakou and boarded the USS Talladega APA 208 and departed Taiwan arriving at Orawan Bay, Okinawa on March 31, 1960.
On May 13, 1960
we boarded a US MSTS ship and returned to Treasure Island at San
Francisco
whereupon I was processed and transferred to Parris Island SC for two years. I
got my strips back on November 1, 1960 and managed to keep them
from then on.
I was released from active duty on March 31, 1962 and transferred to the active Marine Corps Reserve at my old reserve unit in Bakersfield. Several months later I took a job in a town where there was no Marine Reserve unit and I wanted to continue in active reserve status so I was granted permission to enlist into the active US Navy Reserve at San Luis Obispo, California. I continued to serve in the Naval reserve until I was Honorably discharged on 28 July 1967.
I served a total of 4 years six months on active duty in the US Marine Corps and 5 years 10 months in both the US Marine Corps reserve and the US Navy reserve for a total of 10 years and 4 months of military service form April 1957 to July 1967.
James Robert Hewitt Jr.
© Copyright 2005 2006 All rights reserved
Sources:
My Personal Knowledge and experience.
Statement from David Hare Gunnery Sergeant USMC Retired
Statement from Jerry Armstrong Sergeant USMC
Statement from Lieutenant Junior Grade Tad Devine USN
Pacific Stars and Stripes Vol. 16 No 80 Monday March 21, 1960, article titled " U.S. Chinese Marines Await Blue Star H-Hour" by Jim Shaw and article titled "Armada Poised for Landing by Junius Griffin.
Pacific Stars and Stripes Vol. 16 No 81 Tuesday March 22, 1960, article titled "President Chang To See Marines Storm Taiwan" by Junius Griffin
Pacific Stars and Strip