United States Liner President Harrison under Japanese Guard off Shanghai – Dec 7 1941

Actually this is December 8th in Shanghai – though it was December 7th in Pearl Harbor. After the Japanese attack on America began it was about 4am when Shanghai heard. The Japanese moved swiftly and here is the President Harrison under Japanese Bluejacket Marine guard this week in 1941…

The story of the Harrison is compelling and told in David and Gretchen Grover’s Captives of Shanghai. The President Harrison was  formerly the Wolverine State American Passenger Vessel later renamed Harrison in 1922 operated for the U.S. Shipping Board in U.S. Pacific coast/East coast of South America trade. The ship was transferred to Dollar Steamship Lines in 1923 and inaugurated the Dollar Line’s first Round-the-World service in 1924. In December 1941 the Harrison was chartered by the US government to evacuate the last of the 4th Marines and Navy personnel from Shanghai. While on her way to Chinwangtao (Qinhuangdao now) to embark a few more stranded Marines she was captured by the Japanese Navy off Shanghai on the 8th December 1941 close to the Saddle and Shaweishan Islands (now the Ma’an Liedao and Zhoushan Dao respectively) at the mouth of the Yangtze.

The Harrison was later renamed the Kakko Maru and flagged as Japanese. On the 12th September 1944 she was sunk by a torpedo from the American submarine USS Pampanito off Hainan Island heading for Formosa. Sadly she was carrying Australian and British prisoners of war, who had survived the building of the Death Railway.