Ahoy Shipmates

Japanese hospitality was indeed overflowing. All flag officers of the fleet were accommodated at the Emperor's Palace, while the ships' captains occupied suites at Tokyo's elegant Imperial Hotel. Junior officers were presented with railroad passes, and selected enlisted men were given free trolley car privileges. For the entire week the fleet was in Japan, there was a constant round of celebrations, balls and parties. Adm. Togo of the Imperial Japanese Navy gave a garden party; Premier Katsura hosted a formal ball; and 50,000 Tokyo citizens honored the fleet with a torchlight parade.

During a champagne party aboard the Japanese battleship Nikasa, Sperry suffered an indignity, albeit unintended by his Japanese navy hosts. It occurred when a group of exuberant Imperial Navy cadets suddenly picked up Sperry and hurled him into the air three times, shouting "Banzai!" with each liftoff. In Japanese naval circles, the Banzai cheer and tossing were considered tributes. This was explained to a ruffled Sperry after he was placed back on the deck, gasping and trying to straighten out his twisted sash, dislocated sword and wrinkled uniform. Sperry accepted the tribute as graciously as possible under the circumstances.

One of the first diplomatic gestures came about, not as part of an elaborately planned ceremony, but occurred spontaneously during a crisis. On the night of Oct. 22, a flimsy arch, honoring the fleet, caught fire and the flames began creeping up one side of the arch toward a Japanese flag anchored on a pole at the top. Three US sailors and a Marine raced toward the scene. The Marine, reaching the blazing arch first, climbed the clear side of the arch and retrieved the Japanese flag before the flames engulfed it. In the crowd that had gathered, the Japanese went wild and the gusty Marine was hoisted onto shoulders and paraded about the streets. Another small but important diplomatic coup had been scored by the Great White Fleet.

The fleet's Japan visit had the desired result: it generated good will between both countries and eased tensions that might otherwise have led to open conflict. Much of the credit goes to Sperry, whose skill as a diplomat and professionalism as an officer were crucial.

No detail or politeness was left to chance with the arrangement made for the American Fleet visit. Flags for the celebration of the fleet visit were carefully fashioned with the correct 46 stars while the American consulate and battleships still flew flags of 45 stars!

Crewmembers were provided with postcards that were pre-stamped and free railroad passes, lunch tickets, and entertainment of every sort. Guides were available everywhere, and when they attended functions they found free food and beer. The Japanese had prepared a wide selection of souvenir postcards that depicted the ships, the captains and Admiral Sperry, along with the various sites of the cities with English captions. It was hard for a sailor to find somewhere on their visit where they were not met with the coordinated national effort to make them feel welcome.
In each port sailors new where to spend their money. In Japan, the opportunity to by items made of silk, including banners, murals, cloths, and pillows, was very popular. Yokohama had many shops that sailors could visit and select items specially made with the ship's photo, their photo, President Roosevelt, and Admiral Sperry.

Daily 3000 sailors were granted liberty. Sperry was careful and only allowed crewmembers with a good record ashore. They were particularly watchful of sailors who had previous incidents involving alcohol while ashore. In this instance they wanted to ensure that the reputation of the American sailor was maintained without incident.


Cheers



Sean