The U.S.S. Haven in Nagasaki, September 1945

On September 11, 1945, the American hospital ship USS Haven, accompanied by several warships, steamed into Nagasaki Harbor to rescue the thousands of Allied prisoners-of-war released from captivity after the war’s end but still stranded in some 25 former camps around Kyushu. After sweeping the entrance to the harbor for mines, the task force continued to the middle of the harbor and dropped anchor. Only the USS Haven pulled up to Dejima Wharf, a landing place used since 1924 by the sister-ships Nagasaki-maru and Shanghai-maru on the regular NYK service from Kobe to Shanghai via Nagasaki. Both the wharf and the railway station behind it had been abandoned after the two ships sank during World War II.  

 

The NYK passenger steamer Nagasaki-maru at Dejima Wharf circa 1930.

The Sato Antique Shop issued a map circa 1930 showing the way to the shop from Dejima Wharf. The railway line stretches from the left. All of the consulates closed at the outbreak of war. 

The Nagasaki-maru at Dejima Wharf circa 1937. The line of the mountain in the background has been smudged in accordance with orders from military police censors. 

The view from the wharf was bleak: many buildings had been destroyed by fire and their carcasses left to the mercy of the wind and rain; those still standing were invariably ramshackle and grime-laden. At night, the entire city was shrouded in darkness because the electrical grid had still not been restored. Other essential facilities such as water and gas supply lines, hospitals, schools, transportation, banks, and government offices languished in a similar state of paralysis.

The above scenes may have been appalling, but what the Americans could not see from their ship was the section of Nagasaki directly exposed to the wrath of the atomic bomb. Most of the tens of thousands of corpses lying in the charred rubble or festering on river banks had been collected and cremated, but the stench of death and conflagration hung in the air as though permanently imprinted there. The northern half of the city was so devastated that it was difficult to discern even the line of former streets. The surrounding hillsides were stripped of vegetation, and the soil was contaminated with residual radiation.

Nagasaki Prefecture Governor Nagano Wakamatsu and other local representatives met the American officers and agreed to cooperate in the release of prisoners-of-war and to make all necessary preparations for the arrival of Occupation forces, expected before the end of the month. The governor issued orders to the heads of cities, towns and villages for citizens to stay away from the areas demarcated for use by the Occupation forces and to desist from picking up any of the foodstuffs and other supplies dropped by American airplanes into former prisoner-of-war camps. 

 

The USS Haven at Dejima Wharf.

The task force immediately commandeered the Dejima wharf offices and waiting rooms and constructed a row of showers, as well as makeshift facilities for the reception and examination of POWs. Electricity and steam were supplied from the hospital ship. Over the following days, several thousand bedraggled former POWs arrived from various parts of Kyushu, stepping off the train only to shed tears of joy at the sounds of Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here, Beer Barrel Polka and the other welcoming numbers played by the band from the USS Wichita. After their first warm shower in years, the former POWs were given fresh clothing and, depending on their physical condition, either transferred to one of the warships for repatriation or admitted for treatment to a ward in the hospital ship. Further information and photographs related to the task force can be seen here.

Although their sole mission was the rescue of POWs, the medical staff did not ignore the atomic bomb victims. A few of the USS Haven officers traveled out to the hypocenter and also paid a visit to a hospital (probably the relief station established in Shinkozen Primary School) where they witnessed the carnage caused by the bomb and gathered information about the late effects of radiation exposure. The report penned by Dr. Tom Harris, one of the American officers, can be accessed here. 

None of the sailors belonging to the task force seem to have ventured far from Dejima Wharf or engaged in interactions with Japanese citizens. However, the Nagasaki Prefecture government issued a set of ten directives specifically to women and girls, evidence of the deep-seated fear that the Occupation forces would go on a rampage of rape and murder as soon as they stepped ashore. In fact, many women and girls had already fled to rural areas. The directives were as follows:

1)  Be conscious of your pride as Japanese women and under no circumstances be off guard in the presence of foreign military personnel.

2)  Always wear mompé (baggy cotton trousers) and do not go outdoors in a summer dress or underwear.

3)  Do not go out at night or walk alone on mountain paths or in parks or shadowy places.

4)  Never go about naked or half-naked indoors, let alone outdoors.

5)  Always bathe in a shielded place.

6)  Do not show your bare legs on the veranda or at windowsills.

7)  Do not breast-feed your baby on the train or in other public places.

8)  Women should not respond when approached with [the English words]  “hello” or “hey” or in broken Japanese.

9)  Let men give directions on the street.

10)  Avoid being alone at home whenever possible.

(From the Sixty-Five Year History of Nagasaki City [Nagasaki, 1959] p.966. Translated from Japanese by the author)

The formal occupation of Nagasaki began on Sunday, September 23, 1945 with the arrival of more than 20 warships carrying the 2nd Marine Division of the Sixth Army, stationed to date in Saipan. Hundreds of soldiers poured out of the transports and took formation on the waterfront. The people of Nagasaki watched with a sense of relief and resignation as the troops marched in good order through the city. Courtesy prevailed, despite the lingering grudges of war and the apprehensions felt by a defeated country and a devastated city. 

Mission accomplished, the USS Haven steamed out of Nagasaki Harbor two days later and headed to Okinawa.

(Copyrights reserved by the author)