Japanese Badge for Uss Astoria Crewmen Paul G, Nutting, Omsa #2301
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JAPANESE BADGE FOR USS ASTORIA CREWMEN PAUL G, NUTTING, OMSA #2301 Following the death of Japanese ex-Ambassador Hiroshi Saito in Washington, D.C. on February 26, 1939, the State Department thought it prudent to ship his remains back to Japan as a gesture of good will and to repay honors bestowed upon the late Edgar Bancroft, who had died in Japan in 1925. At that time the Japanese had shipped the American Ambassador’s body back to San Francisco. The only ships available and suitable for the task at hand had just concluded fleet exercises in the Caribbean. The two ships (USS Astoria and USS New Orleans) lay at anchor at Culebra, Vir- gin Islands. On the morning of the 3rd of March, the gunnery officers Of both ships flipped a coin. The toss-up was in favor of the heavy cruiser Astoria (CA-34) and she immediately rigged to get underway. Her destination was Norfolk, Virginia, to top up her stores and fuel, and then to Annapolis, Maryland, to pick up the ashes.of the late Ambassador, and the Second Secretary of the Japanese Embassy, Mr. Haokichi Kitayawa, who was to accompany them back to Japan. The Astoria spent two days each in Balboa, Canal Zone, and in Honolulu, Hawaii, to allow the Japanese population in those areas to pay respects to the Ambassador’s ashes. Shortly after eight o’clock in the morning on April 17th, the Astoria was escorted into Yokohama harbor by the light cruiser HIJMS Kiso, accompanied by the destroyers Hibiki, Sagiri, and Akgtsuki. None of the five ships were to survive the Second World War. Formalities soon began and the Astoria crew were transported from Yokohama to Tokyo by way of the Emperor’s "gold" train where they paraded for miles in the funeral procession. Following the funeral the Jap- anese civilians greeted the Americans with open arms and nothing was too good for those who returned to Japan a native son. At the same time the Astoria was at Yokohama, an R & R ship, the USS GoZd Star,~ was in port from Guam. Not wishing to confuse the American sailors, the Japanese issued~a small identifying badge to those from the Astorig and asked that it be worn while ashore. This badge was worn on the uniform directly below the ribbons. The badge consists of two colored enamel flags, one Japanese and one American, side by side and superimposed upon a silver plated bronze fouled anchor. Centered between each throat of the anchor and directly beneath each flag is a pink enamel chrysanthemum. The ’mum below the American flag looks to have lost a petal which is directly below the flower. The badge size is 32 mm from anchor ring to its crown, and 37 mm from each edge of the flags. The unbound ribbon is 32 mm wide, consisting of a white center (20 mm) and edges in sea green each 6 mm wide. The-bottom of the 70 mm length of ribbon is cut swallowtail. The ribbon is attached to the badge by means of dual prongs which, after affixing the ribbon and pin retaining plate, are bent to each side. The bronze pin retaining plate has five Japanese char- acters above the pin and two below. In short, the characters 13 THE SPECIAL BADGE ISSUED TO ASTORIA CREWMEN 14 state that the badge was manufactured in Showa 14, which in our terms would date it to 1939. Along with this badge the Japanese gave a small silk 4 X 6 inch American flag and a set of records in both Japanese and English. The phonograph records were manufactured by Nipponophone Co., Ltd. Kawasaki, Japan, and all three items were presented by its presi- dent, Mr. Mikitara Miha. The phonograph records are: #2CA16796 "Anchors Aweigh" "Welcome Astoria" #2205603 "Ode to Capt. Turner" #120560Z "Ambassador Saito’s Return" Another item presented to the crew was a woodcut depicting Astoria entering Yokohama harbor alongside the Kiso. While still in port, a Japanese messenger lugged a basket full of "skivvie tickets" up the gang plank and delivered them to the Officer of the Deck. These were to be distributed to the crew as a matter of course, but the XO, Commander Paul Theiss, had the basket returned to the Japanese with an explanation that the Americans did not practice that custom. (A "skivvie ticket" is, by the way, a round metal coin about the size of our half dollar and depicts some position of the sex act. These tickets were given to Japanese sailors each pay day and were redeemed at ap- proved houses of prostitution.) After nine days of teas, dinners, and sightseeing, almost all hands were anxious to get underway. As Captain Turner’s memoran- dum ends for the day, "Thank God!" While researching this badge I came to the conclusion that not all the crew received one, as thought previously. Apparently only those who participated in the funeral procession and formalities received a.badge. Of the four ex-crewmen I contacted, two had not seen, and knew nothing about, a badge. The remaining two had at one time received one. One man lost his when the ship he was on was torpedoed by a German submarine in the North Atlantic while heading to Murmansk, Russia. The other man had his badge after the war, but has not seen it for quite some time. It would pro- bably be considered rare, but not knowing the manufacturer or the number made it is hard to say. I would be most interested in hearing any comments or to add other bits of information other collectors may have pertaining to this badge or the other items mentioned in this article. AUTHOR’S NOTE: I wish to thank those ex-crewmen of the Astoria (CA~34) who took the time and answered my plea in the Locator Column of the "Navy Times" and a special thanks to Commander L. H. Werner, USN CRet), Mr. Jim Lopresti, Mr. Gene Lambson, Mr. Carl Glemsdale, and Mr. Bob Lewis, who served on the New OrZeans from 1936 to’1939. 15 .