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On December 12, 1937, Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft bombed and strafed the USS Panay, an American gunboat anchored on the Yangtze River near Nanjing, China. The vessel was evacuating American citizens and diplomats during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Despite displaying prominent American flags, the attack killed four men and wounded 48 others, eventually sinking the ship.
#documentary #war #navy #history
Transcript
00:00The
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02:04In the momentary chance lulls in the hail of death, the war-shocked population salvages the pitiful remnants of its
02:11shattered homes.
02:12Death struck even in a so-called safety zone where 300,000 people huddled in fear.
02:18That man carries the body of his child, clinging dumbly to the forlorn hope that life still inhabits its shattered
02:26little body.
02:31Day after day, the fury of war sends new hordes from corner to corner, laden with rags and tatters of
02:38their broken lives.
02:41Standing offshore from the doomed city is the United States gunboat Penai.
02:46Of the Yangtze patrol are officers anxiously scanning the waterfront for signs of American refugees.
02:52The Penai is the only haven of safety left to Americans trapped in the burning and besieged Chinese capital.
02:57Lieutenant Commander Hughes, the officer pointing, and his subordinates, Lieutenants Geist, Anders, Grazier, and Ensign Beewurst,
03:06are destined in a few hours to add a new chapter to American naval heroism, along with the ship's crew,
03:13including these picturesque whiskerinos.
03:20This form of facial adornment is quite unusual in the United States Navy.
03:24It is a special mark of distinction on the Yangtze patrol.
03:28These jolly fellows little know what's in store for them.
03:31Wounds, hardships, and for some, sudden death.
03:39Fleeing from the beleaguered city, a number of Americans and others arrive at the riverside,
03:44hoping to get aboard the Penai.
03:46Newspapermen and newsreel men who have remained to the last, ironically enough,
03:51there to find that their feeling of security under the stars and stripes is destined to become a mockery.
03:58Among the little group is Sandro Sandri, an Italian correspondent who is destined to meet death aboard the Penai.
04:05Weldon James, frantically waving his handkerchief, finally attracts the attention of a lookout,
04:11and help is soon on the way.
04:17Captain Hughes personally takes command of the launch that goes to the sucker of the correspondents.
04:25The stars and stripes are prominently displayed on the small boat speeding to the rescue of the refugees.
04:32The fire in the city is spreading rapidly,
04:34and now the captain aims to evacuate every American from the danger zone immediately.
04:46And here you may see even more closely how prominently the American flag was flown,
04:51as it was at all times during this international incident.
04:55Captain Hughes and his crew are a welcome sight to these newspapermen,
04:59journalists who know war in all its modern horror, its brutality, and its relentlessness.
05:12So now to board the Penai, and what they thought would be complete safety,
05:17but it means a short trip to death for one of these newspapermen, and days of horror for the others.
05:23A few short hours after they were aboard, the ill-starred Penai is to steam up the river to a
05:29fatal rendezvous.
05:31Nothing now, however, beclouds their welcome surcease from the Nanking carnage.
05:40Penai's eyes are bright this Sunday morning,
05:42and danger seems to drop behind with every foot of progress the launch makes towards the gunboat in the stream.
05:48As the troubled shoreline recedes, there is a glint of sunshine on the water,
05:52and on the flags that mark the Penai's nation.
06:04The American gunboat is a sort of naturalized citizen,
06:08for she was built in China,
06:09but constructed expressly for the use of the United States government's Yangtze patrol,
06:14which guards American interests long recognized by treaty.
06:34The newspaper men once more set foot on what, to most of them, is home territory.
06:40Jim Marshall of Collier's Magazine is there,
06:43and Weldon James of the United Press.
06:45Two Italian newspaper men accompany the Americans.
06:50Reparations are rushed to evacuate the American embassy in Nanking.
06:54Diplomats representing the United States government suspend their difficult tasks,
06:59for a while at least.
07:00Pack important state papers,
07:02and head for the Penai in cars prominently marked with the American colors.
07:16Those on board the Penai extend them a helping hand,
07:19and a genuine welcome as the officials step upon the vessel's deck.
07:23A picturesque figure is bearded J. Paxton Hall,
07:27second secretary of the deserted embassy.
07:29What a precious freight the Yangtze patrol ship carries now.
07:32Besides her normal complement of 55 officers and men,
07:36are members of the embassy staff and the refugees who seek shelter on her armored decks.
07:42They should be safe here,
07:43all of them,
07:44under the protection of the American flag
07:46and the old established treaties that give that flag certain rights in these difficult waters.
07:57Japanese planes and artillery fire make the vicinity of Nanking a place of danger,
08:02even for neutral vessels in midstream.
08:04So Commander Hughes of the Penai decides to pull upstream,
08:08and soon radio messages and other signals are flying between the Penai and nearby vessels,
08:15including the British riverboat Lady Bird,
08:18also here on a relief mission.
08:20Commander Hughes and the skipper of the Lady Bird
08:23necessarily have to work in close cooperation
08:25as representatives of their respective governments
08:28in these war-torn waters.
08:43Finally, the Penai sends up her flag signals
08:45to tell the world she's getting away from the inferno that is Nanking.
08:49So it's anchors away.
08:59The Penai moves up the river,
09:02leading the way as a mothership
09:04for various other American craft in the vicinity.
09:07She's to act as convoy
09:09for several standard oil tankers and freighters.
09:18The Penai carries on
09:21in her double mission of mercy and national prestige.
09:41The quaint, shallow-draft gunboat,
09:43especially built for service on the Yangtze,
09:45picks up its convoy,
09:47the standard oil tankers,
09:49and speeds to safety.
09:56A Chinese hitchhiker,
09:58the native laundryman who serves the Penai,
10:01decides that hooking a tow
10:02is the quickest way to get out of range
10:04of the Japanese shell fire.
10:06Far from the terror of the Japanese crossfire,
10:09the Penai finds what is thought
10:12to be a quiet, restful place.
10:18All about the American gunboat
10:20in her upstream haven
10:21are other vessels crowded to the gunnels
10:23with refugees,
10:25most of them Chinese employees
10:26of the Standard Oil Company.
10:28One boat with crowded decks
10:30looks more like an excursion steamer
10:32bound on a holiday
10:33than a mercy ship
10:35bearing scores from scenes of strife
10:37and desolation in the unhappy city.
10:39A war plane circles overhead,
10:41a sight so usual these hectic days
10:43that it's certainly to awaken
10:51the curiosity of Captain Hughes
10:52and his companions on the Penai.
10:55Many of them join him at the rail,
10:56watching the evolutions
10:57of the bird of death.
10:59Destiny, hand in hand with tragedy,
11:01her human sister,
11:02paces the skies
11:03to an accompaniment drawn
11:04by the rhythmic beat of the motor.
11:20A quiet Sunday afternoon,
11:22shortly after lunch.
11:24Officers of the Penai
11:25and several of the refugees
11:26are chatting in the ward room
11:28when suddenly planes appear.
11:31The ship has been bombed
11:33by Japanese Navy planes.
11:34The call to battle stations
11:36and the Penai crew
11:37rushes to defend their craft
11:38against the sudden,
11:40unwarranted,
11:40unheard of attack.
11:44The ship's machine gunners
11:45go into action,
11:46some of them half-clad.
11:47The captain is wounded,
11:49so are others.
11:49The ship is a shambles,
11:51but whatever the cause
11:52of the unmerciful attack,
11:53the Penai men
11:54will fight to the end.
12:04She's vitally hurt.
12:06Imperiled by stray shells
12:07of wild artillery fire,
12:09the Penai steams up the river.
12:14A Japanese launch.
12:16This is a prelude
12:16to the catastrophe.
12:18They identify the Penai
12:19and note its course.
12:2020 miles up the river
12:22from Nanking,
12:23suddenly from the sky,
12:24without warning,
12:25bombs.
12:29The gunners fight back
12:31at the assailants
12:31from the sky.
12:32No panic,
12:32just Navy discipline.
12:34On deck,
12:34men fall stricken
12:35as the bombing continues.
12:42And that's how
12:43the bombs riddle the ship.
12:45Take to the boats.
12:47That's the order
12:48after half an hour
12:49of incessant bombardment.
12:51Wounded,
12:52blood-stained men first.
12:54The camera portrays heroism.
12:57Sights,
12:58but not sounds.
13:00There was no sound equipment
13:01aboard the Penai,
13:03only silent cameras.
13:05Abandoned ship.
13:09And some jump overboard
13:11and swim.
13:15The incessant air bombing,
13:16bomb after bomb,
13:17turning the Penai
13:18into shambles and wreckage.
13:25The last lifeboat,
13:27a motor sandpan
13:28steering for the nearest land.
13:30And an oil tanker,
13:32three accompanied the Penai.
13:33The Japanese warplanes
13:35bombed them too.
13:38They take refuge
13:39on a small island
13:40and there
13:41they can see
13:42the tankers burn.
13:48The well and the wounded
13:50on a deserted shore
13:51while war is flaming.
14:00So abandon ship
14:01is the command.
14:05Getting the refugee passengers
14:06and the crew ashore
14:08is a desperate task.
14:09The wounded, of course,
14:10have first call.
14:11There's little time to lose
14:13as the famous vessel
14:14has received her death blow.
14:16She's settling fast.
14:29Other Japanese planes
14:31have joined the fight
14:31with bombs
14:32and machine guns.
14:34Even the loaded lifeboats
14:35are targets
14:36for the war-mad
14:36Japanese machine gunners.
14:42The riddle Penai
14:43bears her wounds bravely,
14:45but she is doomed
14:46without question.
14:47And now we go ashore
14:48with Norman Alley
14:49in one of the last boats
14:51to leave the ill-fated ship.
15:00Boatload by boatload,
15:01the Penai survivors
15:02reach the north shore
15:03of the Yangtze
15:04where they can find shelter
15:06from the Japanese planes
15:07still raining lead
15:08mercilessly
15:09at everything that moves.
15:23Alley exposes himself
15:24to film the final moments
15:26of the gallant
15:27United States warship.
15:29And minute by minute now,
15:30she's nearer her end
15:31as she rapidly takes water
15:33and settles lower and lower.
15:47The first American naval vessel
15:49to be sunk under warlike conditions
15:51since the World War.
15:53An undeclared war,
15:54it's true,
15:55but one that has outraged
15:56all humanity
15:57by its ruthlessness
15:58and its horror.
15:59An undeclared war
16:01that spares neither men,
16:02women, or children
16:03that has little regard
16:04for treaties or neutrality.
16:12One of the standard oil boats
16:14was beached
16:15and two others
16:16bombed and destroyed
16:17in the savage attack.
16:18And finally,
16:19the Penai rolls over
16:20on her side
16:21and goes down
16:22in ten fathoms.
16:24Goes down
16:25with her colors
16:25still flying,
16:26hanging in shreds
16:28from her gaff.
16:28It's an event
16:29that has shocked the world.
16:35Japanese forces
16:36are combing the river
16:37and the air.
16:38Penai survivors,
16:39virtually helpless ashore,
16:41take refuge
16:42in the tall reeds
16:43that line the river bank.
16:44The wounded
16:45are made as comfortable
16:46as possible
16:47while their injuries
16:48are dressed
16:48and leaders of the party
16:50make plans
16:50for reaching a point
16:52of greater safety
16:52than the comparative wilderness
16:54of the river bank.
17:11electrician's mate
17:12C.H. Burke
17:13of Malacca, Minnesota
17:14plainly shows
17:15the buffeting he got
17:16in the vicious engagement
17:18on the Yangtze.
17:19A piece of steel
17:20tore the throat
17:21of John Henry Lang,
17:23chief quartermaster,
17:24whose home
17:25is in Long Beach, California.
17:27Lang is pretty badly hurt,
17:28but he's taking it
17:29as stoically
17:29as his fellows,
17:31naval as well as civilian.
17:32The conduct of all
17:33draws from Captain Hughes
17:35the statement,
17:35in my opinion,
17:37everyone acted
17:38with fine courage
17:39and initiative.
17:39And the commander's commendation
17:41goes out to crew
17:42and passengers alike.
17:59Many of the wounded
18:00are in precarious condition,
18:02far from proper medical supplies
18:04and the care they need
18:06to pull them through
18:06the second great emergency
18:08in a few short hours.
18:09The nearest settlement
18:10from which help
18:11may be expected
18:12is miles away
18:13from this spot
18:14and several miles
18:15inland from the river.
18:16The wounded
18:17can be taken
18:18along the river
18:19in boats,
18:19but any kind of movement
18:21is dangerous
18:22for Captain Hughes
18:22with his shattered thigh
18:24and for the Italian journalist
18:25Sandro Sandri,
18:26whose wounds,
18:27like those of
18:28storekeeper Ensminger
18:29of Ocean Beach, California,
18:31are extremely critical.
18:44Tramping slowly
18:45over rutted paths
18:46with the wounded
18:47on crude stretchers,
18:48the weary party
18:49makes its way
18:50over the interminable route
18:52to Hoshien.
18:53Through the assistance
18:54of a Chinese-speaking
18:55attache
18:56of the embassy staff,
18:58Chinese soldiers
18:59have been persuaded
19:00to aid the group
19:00in its painful escape
19:02from the wilderness.
19:03Two of the native military
19:04carry another heavy burden,
19:06these films
19:07taken by Norman Alley
19:09of the bombing
19:10and sinking
19:10of the gunboat Panay.
19:20The ragged band
19:21presses on,
19:22eager only to find
19:23medical aid
19:24for their even
19:25less fortunate companions.
19:27But for two men,
19:28Ensminger and Sandri,
19:29the effort is useless.
19:31In the village of Hoshien,
19:32their wounds
19:33prove fatal.
19:34And their amazed
19:35survivors learn
19:36for the first time
19:38that Japan and America
19:39are not at war.
19:41The next stop
19:42is the town
19:43of Hanjan,
19:44and the weary band
19:45of survivors
19:45finds the first
19:46real rest
19:47and security
19:48since they were bombed.
19:54The miles of rough
19:55going along
19:56the river bank
19:57have been a severe trial
19:58to the wounded
19:59despite the wholehearted
20:00cooperation
20:01of Chinese soldiers
20:02and civilians.
20:13With all of the officers
20:14of the Panay wounded,
20:15Captain F.N. Roberts
20:16of the Army,
20:17military attache
20:18at Nanking,
20:19takes charge of the party.
20:21And after all the wounded
20:22have been attended to,
20:23he arranges for the party
20:24to be transported back
20:25to the Yangtze,
20:26where they can be moved
20:27to Shanghai.
20:33The trip back
20:34is by Sampan
20:35down narrow creeks
20:36and canals.
20:37Slow and tiresome,
20:39but not as slow
20:40and tiresome
20:41as their long trek
20:42inland had been
20:43under fear
20:44of bomb and bullets.
20:48Ali suffers from wounds,
20:50too,
20:50but he's still able
20:51to do his share.
20:52The British ship
20:53Lady Bird awaits them.
20:54She was considerably
20:55damaged by Japanese
20:56shell fire at Woohoo,
20:58but she's not out
20:59of commission,
21:00and her mission
21:01is an errand of mercy
21:02for her American cousins.
21:07The United States ship
21:08Oahu joins the rescue fleet,
21:11and the American victims
21:12of the vicious bombing
21:13are put aboard
21:14to be carried to Shanghai
21:16by an impressive
21:17funeral flotilla.
21:20Volsibus and Ensminger
21:21and the Panay's crew
21:22died from machine gun bullets
21:24fired at the lifeboat
21:25in which they were
21:26on their way to shore.
21:27The Panay survivors
21:28will never forget
21:29those hectic,
21:30horrible hours
21:31when American blood
21:32was shed
21:33by war-crazed culprits
21:35in an Orient aflame.
21:51At Ôsibus and Enshing her
21:51The Black Bombs
21:51of the World
21:51of the kalb
21:51of the Cavd
21:51of the Black Bombs
21:53of the Black Bombs�

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