On the morning of 14 December news reached "Alden" and "Barker" that two days earlier Japanese aircraft had sunk the US gunboat USS "Panay" in the Yangtze River near Nanjing. "Alden" and "Barker" discreetly prepared racks of ammunition for their &lt;a href="4%26quot%3B/50%20caliber%20gun"&gt;4"/50 caliber gun&lt;/a&gt;s, but the IJN ships continued to stand by and assist. "President McKinley" moved closer inshore and embarked about 400 of "President Hoover"s passengers and about 230 of her crew. Japanese Navy flat-bottomed boats brought them from the shore out to meet "President McKinley"s boats and a motor launch, which then ferried them out to the liner. "President McKinley" then left for Manila, leaving behind "President Hoover"s officers, steerage passengers and the last 100 of her crew on Kasho-to.