Page 135 - NS-2 Textbook

128 MARITIME HISTORY

war with China, but he was committed to the defense of tionalists in patrols over the Taiwan Straits. The Navy
Taiwan. Consequently, he asked Congress to grant hlm ferried supplies in to the defenders of Quemoy on am-
the authority to use military force as necessary to accom- phibious craft. By September the Navy had 150 ships op-
plish such defense, and it was granted. Since the Tachens erating in the Taiwan area.
themselves were indefensible, the Navy undertook to The demonstrated fighting capability of the Nation-
evacuate all the inhabitants to Tahvan, an operation that alists and the heavy American naval force were decisive
was conducted successfully. in causing the Chinese Communists to reconsider their
Two post-Korean War events during the summer of plarmed invasions. Admiral Ninlitz wrote that "the
1958 illustrated the value of sea power in stabilizing a quick assembly of the U.s. Navy's Pacific power was the
threatening situation and preventing potential war. factor most responsible for averting a general war."
Following a revolt in Iraq that toppled the pro- Unfortunately, provocative behavior on the part of
Western government in July, Lebanese president Camille the North Koreans did not end with the Korean War
Chamotm requested U.S. military assistance to protect armistice. In the years since many incidents have oc-
his country from a similar event. Within a few hours, the curred that have shown their continued willingness to
Sixth Fleet carrier striking force was in position off test the resolve of South Korea and the United States.
Lebanon. The Amphibious Ready Group began landing One of the worst of these took place in January 1968,
marines on the afternoon of 15 July on the beaches near when a U.S. intelligence-gathering ship, the USS Pueblo
Beirut Airport. The American forces were met by bikini- (AGER-2), was attacked and captured by the North Ko-
clad girls and ice cream vendors selling Popsicles. No reans 15 miles off Wonsan Harbor. As had been common
insurrection took place, the situation calmed, peaceful practice for some time, the ship was conducting routine
elections ",Tere heIdI and the Americans withdrew. intelligence-gathering operations in international waters
President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and his So- off the coast of North Korea. On 23 January the lone ship
viet supporters did not overlook the signilicance of the was suddenly approached by several North Korean tor-
landing, even though many Americans missed the point. pedo boats and a subchaser. After several attempts to get
The Soviets were forced to back down on their promises away, during ·which she "vas continually £h'ed upon! she
to Egypt to support coup d'etat attempts in the Middle was boarded and her crew was rounded up at gunpoint.
East. As a consequence they lost much prestige among Then the ship was forced into Wonsan Harbor, where the
the Arab nations. The Lebanese operation demonstrated crew was removed to a detention site.
that the U.S. Sixth Fleet was a force-in-being capable of For the next eleven months her crew of eighty-two
decisive action. That the Soviets did not have such a ca- officers, enlisted men, and civilians were held as prison-
pability caused them to embark upon a significant naval ers by the North Koreans. They were often subjected to
shipbuilding program designed to remedy their weak- beatings to hy to make them admit that they were in
ness in the Mediterranean Sea. North Korean waters when they were captured. Only
At the same time the Lebanese operation was at- after agreeing to a false confession (which was later re-
tracting so much attention-and probably not by coinci- pudiated) was the U.S. negotiating team at Panmunjom
dence-the Commtmist Chinese made new preparations finally able to obtain their release. The ship itself was put
to attack Quemoy, an island still held by the Nationalists on display as a tourist attraction at Wonsan. This incident
near the port city of Amoy. Siege guns subjected the marked the first time in over 150 years that a U.S. war-
island to constant bombardment. Admiral Burke, the CNO ship had been captured on the high seas by a foreign
at the time, anticipated a confrontation with the Chinese pm,ver.
in Asia at the very time that the Sixth Fleet was commit-
ted in Lebanon. He placed the entire Pacific Fleet on alert
and sent units of the First Fleet to reinforce the Seventh NEW NAVAL CAPABILITIES
Fleet in supporting Taiwan. When the Lebanese plot was
defused by the swift U.S. naval action there, the Chinese Although the Korean War did not bring peace to a trou-
became discouraged, backed off, and relaxed tensions. bled ,,\Todd! it had SOflle positive consequences for the
TI,is was very short-lived, for on 23 August another U.S. Navy. The prewar contention by some that naval
ferocious artillery barrage opened up on Quemoy. The warfare was obsolete was largely discredited. The Ko-
United States dispatched six carriers and their support- rean War had shown that naval shore bonlbardment car-
ing forces to the area, prepared to do all in their power to rier air strikes, close air support, amphibious landings,
defend the Nationalist islands. With such support, the and logistic support from the sea were all necessary parts
Nationalist air force took on the Chinese air force using of any military operations. Congress thereafter autho-
new American-built planes equipped with heat-seeking rized the building of six large Fortestal-class aircraft car-
Sidewinder missiles. They quickly drove the Commu- riers, and plans for new classes of amphibious and mo-
nists from the sky. U.S. Navy planes then joined the Na- bile logistics ships were drawn up.