Evening star., 1945-08-30
Not a Shot Is Fired
As Americans Land
On Japan S Shores
Ey the Associated Press.

pan TO-DAY a 1eW hourS a1te
American Marines and blue
jackets waded ashore with lev
eled guns and occupied the near
ly deserted Yokosuka naval base
Admiral Halseys four-star fla
was hoisted at 10:45 am. (9:45 pm
Wednesday, Eastern war time). Th
Sd Fleet admiral, however, main
tanned his actual headquarter
aboard the battleship Missouri
where Japan will formally surren
der Sunday.
Airborne troops, landing at At
sugi Airf1eld with Gen. Macarthur
occupied Yokohama, S miles close
to Tokyo.
Not a Shot Is Fired.
Not a shot was fired in the frs
seaborne invasion in japanese his
tory The water-soaked amphibiou
forces walked ashore in the Yoke
suka area found unnamed coasta
and antiaircraft guns in empt,
forts-empty, except for neatly
stacked ammunition which Japar
once had expected to deliver in quite
different fashion to Allied invaders
Marines reached Yokosuka al
9:35 am. Japan time 1885 pm
Wednesday, Eastern war time) and
the task force commander. Rear Ad-
miral Oscar C. Badger, docked his
flagship cruiser, the San Diego, at
10 am. t9 pm. Wednesday, Eastern
war timel.
Vice Admiral Michitara Tozuka
awaited Admiral Badger and Rear
Admiral Robert B. Carney, Admiral
Halsey's chief of staff, at the battle
ship dock. Grave salutes were ex-
changed as Marine guards stood
stiffly by.
Admiral Carney accepted surren-
der of the base, which Admiral
Badger will administer. at 11:12
am. Q0:12 pm Wednesday, East
ern war time. The ceremony lasted
only 10 minutes.
British Occupy Two Isles.
British earlier had occupied two
small islands in the day. and Amer
leans took third, seizing also the
thin blade of Futtsu Peninsula cross
the bay from Yokosuka.
Marines reaching Futtsu at 5:5S
am. C4:58 pm. Wednesday, Eastern
war time) found:
A woman clam digger, who care
fully turned her back on the ap-
preaching boats and kept on dig
eing.
A man who grabbed his clam
basket and fed frantically.
A former Great Neck, N. Y. chauf-
feur, waiting with two japanese Of
flcers to act as translator during
the quick capitulation ceremony.
Within half an hour, three old
Japanese forts. unnamed, were un-
der guard and American flags few
above them. Spikes and 16-pound
sledge hammers knocked out quickly
the abandoned Japanese guns. A
few American weapons were among
those seized.
Marines. tenselv alert as they
moved inland, had overrun empty
beach bunkers and pillboxes.
Meet in Fort Okahodai.
Two officers and the interpreter
Frank S. NarusaWa. who said he
had worked in New York and Bos-
ton as a chauffeur for Is years, met
the Americans in tunneled and
vaulted Fort Okahodai The jap
anese garrison before Withdrawing
had laid out its weapons in neat
the Germans, who ca
praciously destroyed much Of their
equipment last May rather than
yield it to the Allies.
After searching quickly through
scores of wooden frame buildings
hidden among evergreen trees. Ma
rines scaled a weather station look
out tower and unfuried the Amer
ican flag.
Nowhere was there any sign of
hostility as the Marines knocked out
Futtsu's guns and joined larger
forces moving into Yokosuka.
Admiral Nimitz, from the bridge
of the battleship South Dakota,
trained binoculars on the beaches
as the Marines walked in. Ad-
miral Halsey watched from the
Missouri, and British Admiral Sir
Bruce Fraser from the Duke of York
Admiral Nimitz said This is a pleas
ure. ="
His meaning " clear to any one
looking at Yososuka's powerful
armament and its island bastions.
Scores of Empiacements.
Scores of gun emplacements, with
coastal guns of up to 16 inches COW
cred the narrow channel leading into
Tokyo Bay Landings here against
opposition would have been virtually
Allied commanders con-
ceded.
Instead, without bloodshed. the
Navy moved into harbor facilities
capable of accommodating a big
fleet, with outlying seaplane and
lanoplane bases Its facilities ap-
peared not greatly damaged
Love-Day was quiet and skies
were blue Little clusters of Hig-
gins boats cut circles of foamy
white in calm green sea as they
picked up their battle equipped
troops. The big guns of hundreds
of waiting British and American
warships remained silent-unneed-
ed today.
Marines of the reinforced fourth
regiment, 9Th Division, soon were
Strolling through the base.
The Yokosuka base, second largest
In Japan, was turned over to Ad-
miral Carney in a brief ceremony on
the antisubmarine boat ways be-
meath a big crane.
Both Admiral Carney and Admiral
Badger, whose special task force
was the first to enter Tokyo Bay,
participated in the brief ceremonies.
Admiral Tozuka handed over a
plain white envelope bearing the
formal notice of surrender of the
base to American forces.
The Americans stepped ashore
from Admiral Badgers flagship. the
cruiser San Diego, after Tozuka and
his party had gathered on the ce-
ment boat ways and posed for pic
lures for both American and Japa-
neSe nhotapranherS