PLANES, BOATS, AND MULE TRAINS: THE UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND REHABILITATION ADMINISTRATION IN HONOLULU, 1946-1947

Gwen SinclairUniversity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa LibrarySymposium on Maritime Archaeology and History of Hawai‘i and the PacificFebruary 13, 2016

UNRRA in China, 1945-1947

Why were mules sent from Hawai`i?

Were they Army mules?

Why did the Army still have mules in 1946?

United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA)• UNRRA established in 1943 to serve war victims through

relocation, aid, industrial and agricultural rehabilitation• Discussions began in early May 1945 between UNRRA

and Surplus Property Office, Dept. of the Interior about buying surplus in Hawai‘i

• Primary intent was to procure material for China; also European and Mediterranean theatres of operation

• Jan. 1946 visit to Honolulu by officials of Surplus Property Office determined that 60-70% of China’s needs could be met using Hawai‘i surplus

Hawai‘i surplus sent to foreign countries through UNRRA• China• Yugoslavia• Greece• Italy• Poland• Albania• Czechoslovakia• Ukraine

UNRRA in Honolulu• UNRRA office established in March

1946• Headed by Dewey Jones, Area

Surplus Procurement Officer• Surplus Property Office provided

office space at `Iolani Palace, staff, equipment, and supplies free for UNRRA

• Coordinated purchases with Manila and Shanghai UNRRA offices

Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA) programs supported by Hawai‘i surplus

• Agricultural Rehabilitation• Mules, tractors, railroad tracks and rolling stock, road building

equipment, pumps • Industrial Rehabilitation

• Engines, machine shops, tugs and barges, heavy construction equipment, airplanes and parts

• Food Division• Army and Navy surplus food

• Medical Division• Army surplus medical supplies

“Little Stuff” • Clothing such as uniforms,

coats, skirts, pants, underwear, caps, hats, shoes, stockings, helmets

• Hospital equipment like beds, cots, sheets, mattresses, medications

• Sailmaker’s needles• Food

Blankets being loaded for an airdrop in Northern China (Photo: UN)

Trucks, tractors, construction equipment

LST with trucks in China (photo: UN)

Tractors and trucks in Hunan (photo: UN)

Locomotives, railroad cars, and tracks

Inspecting railroad equipment in China (Photo:UN)Unloading locomotive

in Hong Kong (Photo: UN)

Assembling freight cars (Photo: UN)

CNRRA Air Transport (CAT)• Started by Claire Chennault (of Flying

Tigers fame) and Whiting Willauer• Provided air transport for UNRRA in

China• UNRRA purchased 17 C-46 aircraft

from Army in Hawai‘i

Claire Chennault (Photo: Air Force)

Airplanes – C-46 and C-47

(Photo: The early days I – CAT operations in China 1946-48)

C-47 with CAT pilots

• 25 aircraft mechanics went to Wheeler AAFB to work on C-46s; Air Force covered their living expenses, to be reimbursed by UNRRA.

• CAT later became Civil Air Transport, operated by the CIA

Richard Rossi, CAT pilot

China Waterways Transport (CWT)• UNRRA procured vessels for CWT and provided crews• Some were towed to China by Army Corps of Engineers

tugs, some traveled under their own power in convoys• Most vessels were reconditioned by American-Hawaiian

Steamship Co.• Disputes with American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. and their

subcontractor Inter-island Navigation Co. over excessive charges

Check for $14,486.02 made out to Inter-Island Steam Navigation Company, Ltd.

Fishing vessels and smaller craft

Cable listing fishing vessels transshipped through Honolulu

Tugs and barges

Tunica, the tug that would not go• UNRRA purchased for

$16,000; spent $8,000 on repairs

• Damaged by a fire due to crew negligence while docked and could not be made seaworthy

• UNRRA tried to get War Assets Admin. to take it back

• Eventually sold for $560

The Hawaiian Pack Train Mules• 792 pack mules sold to UNRRA by the Army• Part of 24th Infantry Div.• Used to carry supplies to mountain defense posts• Disbanded June 30, 1944• Mules later trained for amphibious operations for invasion

of Japan

Still from “The Big Picture: Mobility”

Mules for China• Mules shipped to Tientsin, China on the DePauw Victory,

which had been retrofitted by War Shipping Administration to carry the mules

• Intended for breeding stock• Some mules eventually ended up in Nationalist Army

Loading a mule (Photo: UN)

Ships used by UNRRA• Edward A. MacDowell• SS John Miller• SS Ignacious Donnelly• SS DeSoto• SS Iberville

Merchant mariners from Hawai‘i

Complaints, complaints, complaints

“Why are allowing UNRRA to take surplus that we need in Hawai‘i?”

More complaints“Why is the saleable surplus property in Hawai‘i withdrawn for the benefit of communistic Yugoslavia and Korea…?”

The end of UNRRA in Honolulu• Dewey Jones left in July 1947• Milton Wisser, auditor, stayed until the end of the year

dealing with the Tunica and other matters

Other things I learned• Governor Stainback issued passports to UNRRA

employees going to China• Many Hawai‘i residents worked for UNRRA in China as

healthcare workers, engineers, agricultural advisers

Articles about opportunities for work with UNRRA

Articles about returning UNRRA workers

My research journey

Hawaii State Archives

Hawaii Newspaper Agency clippings morgue

Thank you!

Pfc. Harry Bourassa, Muleskinner (Wartime Press)

Gwen Sinclairgsinclai@hawaii.edu