Fon Huffman Remembers the USS Panay Attack 1937

Vaughn Huffman is the last living survivor from the gunboat USS Panay he joined the Navy 78 years ago and is now 94 years old Oh join the Navy December the 2nd 1929 I was at 16 the old man signed for me said in Leyte like many sailors in the 1930s Huffman was drawn to serve in the Asiatic fleet everyone talked about how good it was out there and everything was you know cheap the USS peni was one of several American gunboats to operate on the Yangtze River their mission was to protect American interests along the river including the standard oil tankers that cruised from Shanghai to Nanking and beyond that was a good ship as a real good ship they had Chinese cooks on there and had to tell her what she won't eat and they'd give it to the you could order your breakfast in you want a bacon and eggs you the order on the order when you get it none of the big ships you didn't do that in December of 1937 the Japanese Imperial Army began a major offensive towards Nanking Shanghai when the Japs decided they want to control the whole works makeover as they closed in the USS pan I was dispatched to monitor the situation and evacuate the few Americans left in the city members of the embassy staff and journalists then Kendall who was in turmoil said Japs was killing Chinese liked to murder him just like nothing he couldn't believe it what they'd done there they just murdered everybody as the Japanese move towards the city the pan I situation became dangerous they were there was firing the guns and real pursuit than a welcome uses he was a captain of on the chip so they decided to move up River so we went up to River 221 miles from Shanghai up as it proceeded upriver that pan is courted several standard oil tankers the next day Sunday December 12th and I seem to be out of danger the ships dropped anchor and the crew had lunch then suddenly the sound of planes could be heard and I was under attack I was sleeping taking a nap the first bomb hit the bow of the ship and rolled it all the heck their dive bombers they're real close to get here though we all went the bamboo the bombs was dropping all around us and their shrapnel was falling any bomb that made the noise heard it coming zooming boom everybody got to hit we didn't have enough Rangers get scared with shooting back at island with the machine guns but there was then all the flashing wonders wasn't there worth a dime the patches gunner was up all the one of them a choice pass off of the bottom or the first bomb and he was manning the machine guns without the pants executive officer Arthur Anders took command from the badly injured captain Hughes but Andrews was also injured hidden a throat by a piece of shrapnel he could not speak the captain in there and the executive officer well they were exposed they were up on a bridge or looking watching and they dropped the bombs and hit the first thing he was real bad he's blood all over and the captain told the exact that except he couldn't talk hit the hallway could talk he keep loaded up with the blood on his finger with on the wall then in ship we started abandon ship right away they started hug people over short it was funny I went to my locker and I had oh I watch and I got in the hock shop in Norfolk and I took it out of my pocket and put it on the shelf of my locker and I jumped over the side I was thinking about Huffman didn't have a lifejacket having given his to the newsreel photographer Norman alley the Swift moving River was very dangerous but Huffman felt he could swim it I put a mattress in there supposed to be no I'm syncable and it sucked right away and I got that floor mat wouldn't you thought it and jumped in too long but they didn't fit it work I was swimming man that's his gunner he saved my life he pulled me out of water although temporarily safe on shore the survivors were convinced the United States and Japan must be at war and afraid of what the Japanese might do next I thought there's gone they're gonna let this happen murderous heroine thought that immediately the survivors on land began to care for their wounded while out in the river their ship the pan I sank the ragtag group began traversing Overland after a long night of traveling the survivors reached the fishing village of ocean where they were finally able to rest I remember when we want to host Yemen Chinese trade is perfect here the survivors learned that the Japanese were not at war with the US and that their rescue was imminent then we left there and went in the grand canal between the Yangtze under Yellow River and we went down there to a town I don't know what I was that's where we what we stayed overnight it was boats boats there that wahoo the wahoo was there and quite a few limey boats the british gunboat ladybird and the American gunboats made a procession to Shanghai carrying the survivors and the dead Huffman's own family feared the worst pate got some I was on yeah they thought my what a medic killed Huffman and the passengers and crew of the pan I had survived a major incident but the fact that only two people were killed as a result of the attack and a quick apology from the Japanese government averted an even greater disaster for his part von Huffman always believed the attack was intentional probably took care of the right then but who's about knew he wasn't ready Jeffster just test this out and it found out wait a week we don't like they wanted to that's why this set that blades or words not the whole book wait Vaughn Huffman continued his career in the u.s. Navy and served during World War two in the Pacific he never reported his injuries as a result of the attack on the pan I nearly 40 years later executive officer Arthur Anders put in papers and Huffman received the Purple Heart you

Channel: Ken Barnett

Views: 2,709

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: war, attack, panay, huffman

Id: o1yUbW_WkDM

Length: 7min 43sec (463 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 27 2016