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Posted on 04/19/2004 12:00:01 AM PDT by SAMWolf
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free dixie,sw
2) It is my understanding that a substantial part of the US army forces in the Philippines were New Mexico National Guard. I believe there is a MacArthur High School in Albuquerque. That has suggested to me that the veterans of the Philippines did not feel it was MacArthur that let them down.
I sure would like to know the story of how the New Mexico National Guard ended up in the Philippines, and whether (as I suspect) they were sent there months after the decision was made by the Roosevelt administration to do nothing to support them once in place (as noted in this article).
The twenty-four-year-old Bulkeley went aboard the Wilson Lines coastal steamer in July 1936. His ship, the cruiser Indianapolis, was tied up at the huge US Navy base in Norfolk, and he was looking forward to an off-duty weekend in Washington and Baltimore.
Entering the dining salon that evening in his white dress uniform, Bulkeley was struck by the sight of four Japanese, all well dressed, sitting at one of the tables. A steward told the curious young officer that one of them was the Japanese ambassador to the US. To Bulkeley, the other three looked very much like military officers in mufti, or civilian clothes.
The steward also told Bulkeley the foursome often made the same round trip -- Washington to Norfolk and back.
The young American's suspicions were aroused. Why would an ambassador spend so much time traveling to Norfolk? Didn't he have enough to occupy him in the diplomatic world of Washington? And why those three men of obvious military bearing as his frequent companions.
To Bulkeley the answer seemed obvious enough. The naval base at Norfolk! They must be spying on the base and all the American warships that docked there. In fact, the briefcase so carefully kept by the ambassador's feet, even during dinner, must contain the most recent fruit of their labors.
Never one to waffle in the toils of indecision, Bulkeley made up his mind on the spot. He must get his hands on that briefcase!
He formed his plan as he watched the foursome through dinner, which for the Japanese meant the consumption, the copious consumption, of tea. Enough, Bulkeley said later, to float a battleship.
Surely they would have to awaken during the night and use the common head--there were no such facilities in the steamer's small, individual cabins.
No one in official Washington was aware of the high drama that unfolded later that night as the young ensign from the Indianapolis posted himself at a vantage point on the deck near the ambassador's cabin and waited in the darkness.
For four or five hours, nothing happened. The coastal steamer by now had entered the Potomac River, her passengers peacefully bedded down--except for the waiting Bulkeley. Finally, about 4 a.m., the ambassador emerged from his cabin. Exactly as anticipated, he walked down the deck toward the sandbox to heed the call of nature.
Exactly as planned also, Ensign Bulkeley swung into action. "Moments later I scrambled through the hatch of the Jap's cabin, grabbed his briefcase, and barreled back through the hatch."
Bulkeley slipped out of sight, toward the stern of the small ship. What next? Would the ambassador return, sleepily crawl back into bed without noticing the briefcase was gone? Or--? Unfortunately for Bulkeley, it was or. He did notice the theft. "He began screaming and hollering and raising holy hell. Then the other Japs joined in the screaming. The racket was so loud, they no doubt heard it in Tokyo."
Bulekley again wasted no time. With the river shoreline dimly in sight on both sides, still in his dress whites, he went over the rail and into the water. Sidestroking and holding the briefcase above the water, he plugged for the Maryland shore, while the Wilson liner pulled steadily away, in the direction of Washington.
Minutes later, soaked shoes squishy from their bath, Annapolis grad Bulekley was trudging along a dirt road with his precious cargo the Japanese briefcase. Reaching a larger road, he managed to hitch a ride into the Federal City, which in those prewar days was well shut down for the weekend.
Bulkeley hid himself in a seedy hotel until Monday morning, the briefcase still his constant companion. And on Monday morning, he took a taxi to the US Navy headquarter on Constitution Avenue. Safe inside, he found his way to an unmarked door that was Navy Intelligence. He knocked.
"Some old gent -- he must have been 106 years old and going down for the ghrid time -- cautiously opened the door. He was stonefaced, and wearing civilian clothes. I found out later he was a captain in Naval Intelligence. He never invited me inside. Merely said "Yes" and stood there while I told him of the events on the Norfolk-Washington steamer. Then I proudly held up the Jap ambassador's briefcase. The old bastard turned ashen--I thought he was going to faint. Finally he asked my name, rank, and duty station, then slammed the door in my face.
Bulkeley was stunned. Before he could react, however, the door suddenly reopened "and the same gent snatched the briefcase out of my hand, told me to report back the the Indianapolis immediately, and again slammed the door"
Back in Norfolk, Bulkeley discovered that word of his adventure had traveled ahead of him. Boarding his ship, he was hauled before its skipper. The skipper said he didn't want to know any details and informed Bulkeley he was being transfered, right then, to the transport Chaumont. In twenty-four hours, the Chaumont cast loose its lines in Norfolk and sailed for Shanghai, China. Bulkeley was gone from sight of official Washington and the outraged Japanese.
But the heaviest element, Bureaucratium, was his undoing.
Gentlemen don't read each other's mail.
Carter and Stansfield Turner agreed, Frank Church, Robert Torricelli, John Deutch, too.
Had we more Bulkeleys and fewer Chamberlains we could have saved a million men.
Thanks to Bush over Gore, we may have. If Bush II over Kerry, most certainly.
I just finished up a thread scheduled for next month on one of the New Mexico Guard units in the Philippines.
Your comment about the torpedoes is right on the mark too. The failure of our torpedoes early in the war hampered the efforts of our submarines in slowing down the invasion and transport fleets.
Fighting "by the rules" satisfoes politicians sensibilities but gets our soldiers killed.
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