〈星條旗飄揚東沙島〉Stars and Stripes over Pratas Island John J. Tkacik, Jr.＠TT 20181105 Taimocracy翻譯

【Comment】

譚慎格的〈華府是否注視著東沙群島經濟海域？〉開宗明義提及「上週，我在《台北時報》的投書中，闡述了一小支美國海軍部隊在第二次世界大戰尾聲，一度佔領東沙島（現由台北當局管轄）、並宣稱其為「美國領土」的歷史紀錄。」

(Last week in the Taipei Times (“Stars and Stripes over Pratas Island,” Nov. 5, page 8), I mulled an historical footnote about a small US Navy force in World War II that once captured Pratas Island (東沙島, now administered by Taipei) and claimed it as “American territory.” For readers unfamiliar with Taiwan’s idyllic south sea atolls, Pratas Island is a 1.6km-long jade-green isle with a working lagoon harbor set, jewel-like, into Pratas’ 24km-wide circular atoll, equidistant from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Luzon whence it commands the deep blue waters of the South China Sea’s northern approaches.  A Taiwanese coast guard base on the island is quite modern and can be busy.)

〈星條旗飄揚東沙島〉Stars and Stripes over Pratas Island    John J. Tkacik, Jr.＠TT  20181105  Taimocracy翻譯

The US occupied the small island for a day towards the end of World War II  美國在二次大戰末期軍事佔領此小島一天

Submarine crews in wartime generally know the date and time, but often lose track of the days.  And the nights.  On Tuesday May 29, 1945, just a few minutes past zero-hundred hours, the USS Bluegill, a Gato-class American submarine, burst up through ghostly phosphorescent waves and into the glistening full-moonlit sea about three miles southwest of Pratas atoll in the South China Sea.

戰時潛艇人員一般都知道日期和時間，但往往會失去對日夜的追踪。1945年5月29日星期二，距離零時只有幾分鐘，美國Gato級潛艇Bluegill突然穿過幽靈般的粼粼波光，進入東沙環礁西南約3英里滿月下的南海。

Within minutes, the topside hatches swung open.  Emerging crewmen hoisted boxes of ammo, firearms, radio sets and life vests on deck.  They assembled folding “fol-boats” and a large rubber equipment boat under the eye of two Australian commando officers assigned to the sub.  When all was ready, the commandos boarded a fol-boat alongside in the sea froth, then loaded the gear, explosives and automatic weapons.  With their oars, the commandos pushed off from the sub’s steel hull, paddled easily and quietly toward the dimly visible white beaches on a 70-minute trip to low-lying Pratas Island (東沙), also known as Tungsha Island.

幾分鐘後，頂部艙口打開了。冒出船員在甲板上懸掛了一箱彈藥、槍械、無線電台和救生衣。突擊隊員在兩名澳大利亞軍官的監督下組裝了「折疊式小艇」和一艘大型橡皮艇。當一切準備就緒時，突擊隊員登上一旁的「折疊式小艇」，然後裝上配備、炸藥和自動武器。隨著突擊隊員的划起槳，將小艇推離潛艇，在70分鐘的東沙島潟湖航程中，輕鬆而平靜地劃向昏暗可見的白色沙灘。

When the rubber boat swept with gentle breakers onto the nighttime sands, the two men leaped into the foam and dragged it into the beach’s scrub fringe.  They listened for any hint of a Japanese garrison. Nothing.  Shouldering their weapons, they scouted up the underbrush margins to discover trenches, foxholes, remains of recent campfires — but no humans.

當橡皮艇柔和登上夜間沙灘上時，兩名戰士跳入泡沫並將小艇拖上粗礪的海灘。他們監聽日本駐軍是否有任何動靜。沒有。他們扛著武器，掠過灌木叢的邊緣，發現有壕溝、散兵坑、營火跡象—但渺無一人。

Another several hundred yards on, they confronted the nighttime shadows of two large wooden cannons guarded ostentatiously by two motionless figures in Japanese navy uniforms.

又過了幾百碼，他們面對兩個大型木製炮架的夜間陰影，這兩個大砲架由穿著日本海軍制服兩個不動的人物守衛著。

“We watched and waited for what seemed forever but was probably no more than five minutes,” one of the commandos later recalled; the guards were not fierce Japanese kaigun rikusentai, the Japanese Special Naval Landing Forces, but straw-stuffed scarecrows, armed with wooden sticks, immovable sentries for makeshift lumber howitzers.

「我們觀察並等待，時間似乎永無止盡，但實際上不會超過五分鐘，」其中一名突擊隊員後來回憶；衛兵並不是日本海軍陸戰隊，而是手持木棍的稻草人，不動的哨兵看守著木製榴砲。

In a methodical four-hour night reconnaissance, they crisscrossed the abandoned palm-forested island, its Japanese radio-weather station, the concrete jetty and barracks buildings, from end to end.  On the north side of the encampment charcoal ash, fresh fruit and still-thriving flowers in a small Shinto shrine told the Australians that the island had been abandoned perhaps 10 days earlier. Confident that the island was safe, the Australians returned to the beach and radioed their mother-ship.  The Bluegill’s commander, with the all-clear from the shore party, signaled from the conning tower for the 10-man team on deck to load their landing boats and make for the beach.

在有條不紊四小時的夜間偵察中，他們縱橫交錯仔細搜索了被遺棄的棕櫚樹林島，日本的無線電氣象站，混凝土碼頭和軍營建築物。在營地北側的一個小神社中，木炭灰，新鮮水果和仍然盛開的鮮花在顯示該島已經在10天前被廢棄了。澳大利亞人確信這個島嶼是安全的，他們回到海灘並用無線電連絡他們的母船。Bluegill的指揮官，在海上從指揮塔發出信號，指示甲板上的10人團隊裝載他們的登陸艇並為登陸做準備。

Once on the Pratas, the 12 invaders fanned out through the encampment and pier areas to document the island’s topography, facilities and supply stockpiles.

一登上東沙，12名入侵者就會在營地和碼頭區域散開，記錄島上的地形，設施和供應庫存。

The submarine log reads: “We assembled around the flag pole, and at 1022 on May 29, 1945, a handful of soldiers and sailors stood at solemn attention while the Stars and Stripes slowly ascended the flag pole and two captured Jap bugles blared forth.  The land they now stood on was US territory! A plaque was then affixed to the base of the pole certifying the capture of the island by the crew of the USS Bluegill.”

潛艇日誌上寫著：「我們聚集在旗桿周圍，於1945年5月29日10:22，在士兵和水手站莊嚴的注目禮星條旗慢慢升上旗桿，兩具俘獲的日本喇叭演奏著國歌。他們現在所處的土地是美國領土！ 然後將一塊牌匾固定在桿子的底座上，證明USS Bluegill船員佔領該島。」

Sadly, if the Pratas atoll was “US territory,” its new owners lavished it with neither the dignity nor tender care due sovereign property.  The Americans departed on May 29 as quickly as they arrived, carting off canned Japanese vegetables, war souvenirs, neglected codebooks and any naval documents left unburnt.  The Australian commandos set explosive charges to the rest of it.  The Pratas was a dismal pall of smoke as the Bluegill set sail at 4:40pm that afternoon.

可悲的是，如果東沙環礁是「美國領土」，它的新主人既沒有以尊嚴也未溫柔的關懷主權財產。美國人在抵達後很快就於5月29日離開。帶走日本的蔬菜罐頭，戰利品，被忽視的操典以及任何未被焚燬的海軍文件。澳大利亞突擊隊員對其餘部分設定爆破，隨著Bluegill於當天下午4:40起航，東沙是一片令人沮喪的煙霧。

WITNESS TO WAR ON FORMOSAN SHORES見證福爾摩沙濱海的戰爭

Two days later, the Bluegill entered a “newly assigned area for life guard duty [southwest] of Takao [today’s Kaohsiung],” where the war there, daily and mercilessly, still raged.

兩天後，Bluegill進入了一個「新的高雄救援任務 [西南]地區」，那裡的戰爭每天都在無情地肆虐。

“Witnessed airstrike over Takao.  Air literally filled with friendly aircraft of all types. Our aircover has long since deserted us.”

「目睹了對高雄的空襲。空中充滿了各種類型的同盟飛機。我們的空優曾長期讓我們失望。」

At one point, the Bluegill raced at top speed to “recover eight aviators in the water some 60 miles up from coast just off the beach [and] … forced to enter unknown mine fields in attempting to effect their rescue.”

有一次，Bluegill以最快的速度進行救援，以「在離海岸約60英里的水域拯救八名落水飛行員[而] ......被迫進入未知的水雷區。」

On its route, the Bluegill was pressed under the waves by a rapidly closing Japanese seaplane bomber. At six o’clock that first evening, another Japanese dive bomber caught the Bluegill in shallow water.

在它的路線上，一架快速接近的日本水上轟炸機將Bluegill壓在海浪下。第一天晚上六點鐘，另一架日本反潛機在淺水區逮到Bluegill。

“Received one bomb. Surprised we weren’t overwhelmed we were so close to beach. Our position inside harbor buoys of Toshien harbor (左營軍港).”

「挨了一枚炸彈。令我們感到驚訝的是我們沒有沉沒。我們離海灘太近了，在Toshien港（左營軍港）的港口浮標內的位置。」

To the Bluegill’s dismay, once she arrived at the reported coordinates for the rescue of the downed-aviators, “No aviators nor raft nor friendly aircraft in sight.”

令Bluegill感到沮喪的是，一旦她到達所報告的救援被擊落飛行員的座標，「既沒有飛行員，也沒有木筏或友軍飛機。」

A third Japanese dive bomber sighted the sub and loosed a charge, and an hour later, a fourth Japanese aircraft dropped two bombs. By nightfall, the Bluegill logbook lamented that “The cooperation of friendly aircraft this date was remarkable by its absence.”

第三架日本俯衝轟炸機看到了潛艇，並投下炸彈，一小時後，第四架日本飛機投下兩枚炸彈。到了傍晚時分，Bluegill的日誌感嘆：「友機的合作在今日的欠缺特別值得紀錄。」

At sunup on June 1, the Bluegill had more than enough air cover.

在6月1日的日出時，Bluegill有足夠的空優掩護。

“The sky was black with friendly aircraft of all types through most of the day.”

「在整天中各類的友機佈滿天空。」

The sub watch team recorded American PBY amphibious aircraft, B-24 and B-25 heavy bombers, the latest and most modern P-38 and P-51 fighters, huge PB-2Y seaplane bombers, and the long-range workhorse B-17 bombers.

潛艇觀測隊記錄有美國PBY兩棲飛機，B-24和B-25重型轟炸機，最新最現代的P-38和P-51戰鬥機，巨大的PB-2Y水上飛機轟炸機和遠程主力B-17轟炸機。

“Quite an impressive and soul-satisfying sight,” reads the submarine’s log.

「相當令人印象深刻且令人滿意的景象，」潛艇的日誌上寫道。

“Soul-satisfying” perhaps to the officers and crew of the Bluegill, but hellish nightmares to myriads of those living on Taiwan in target cities ashore who endured that late spring monsoon of white hot steel and shrapnel.

對於Bluegill的軍官和工作人員來說，「靈魂滿足」，但對於居住在台灣目標城市的無數人來說，他們是惡夢的噩夢，他們忍受著白熱鋼片和彈片的晚春季風。

And the bombing went on. All day on June 2, “The sky was again filled with own aircraft of all descriptions. Golly, but we’re proud to be Americans.” On June 3, “The usual large number of friendly planes were overhead throughout the day.”

轟炸繼續進行。6月2日整天，「天空再次充滿了各種特殊的飛機。真慘，但我們為成為美國人感到自豪。」6月3日，「通常大量的友機全天都在空中飛過。」

Happily, no new calls for downed pilot rescues came in the ensuing days. The relentless bombing quickly destroyed all coastal defenses on Formosa. After a week, witness to the distant eruptions and curtains of carpet bombing from well offshore, on June 6, the Bluegill handed off lifeguard tasks to another submarine and headed southeast again, past the Pratas Reef (their newly renamed “Bluegill Island”) and skirting farther to the east of the marooned and beleaguered Japanese garrison holding out on the Philippine island of Batan. Its destination was Saipan for replenishment and resupply.

令人高興的是，在接下來的幾天裡沒有新的要求救援被擊落的飛行員。無情的轟炸迅速摧毀了福爾摩沙的所有沿海防禦。一周後，見證遠離火力爆發和地毯式轟炸，6月6日Bluegill將救援任務交給另一艘潛艇並再次向東南方向前往東沙群礁Pratas Reef（他們新改名為“Bluegill Island”）和在菲律賓巴坦島上停留在被困的，陷入困境的日本駐軍的東邊。它的目的地是塞班島，以補水和再補給。

On July 2, 1945, the Commander of Submarine Force Pacific formally reported to Naval headquarters in Washington DC that “in a fitting ceremony on 29 May 1945 the Bluegill raised the national ensign on Pratas Island and proclaimed it ‘Bluegill Island.’”

1945年7月2日，太平洋潛艇部隊指揮官正式向華盛頓特區的海軍總部報告說，「在1945年5月29日的一個合宜的儀式上，Bluegill在普拉塔斯島上升起了國旗並宣佈為'Bluegill島'。」

Commodore Merrill Comstock, proudly informed the Pentagon that the USS Bluegill, one of his 465-boat submarine fleet’s 20 top submarines, had been awarded a new combat insignia for the mission, and indeed the Bluegill’s “Sixth Combat Mission” battleflag shows five Japanese warships and nine merchant ships sunk, and one tropical island captured.

指揮官 Merrill Comstock自豪地告訴五角大廈，他的465潛艇艦隊的20艘頂級潛艇之一的USS Bluegill已經獲得了新的戰鬥徽章，而Bluegill的「第六戰鬥任務」戰旗顯示了，擊沈五艘日本戰艦和九艘商船，佔領一個熱帶島嶼。

Seven decades later, it is tempting for military and naval historians to rue missed opportunities, especially given the unforeseen prominence of the hundreds of atolls, islets, reefs and sandbars of the South China Sea.  Pratas Island, occupied for a single day in 1945 by a handful of American sailors, was a mere footnote-of-a-footnote in the military-industrial holocaust that was the War in the Pacific, a war in which the US was the principal victor and the sole occupying power of defeated Japan.  Today, by everyone’s common agreement, it belongs to a republic of China, but which one?  And so, now, it is simple fun to imagine what the 21st century controversies in the South China Sea would have been like if Pratas had remained “US territory” for more than one day in 1945.

七十年之後，軍事和海軍歷史學家懊悔錯失良機，特別是考慮到南海數百個環礁、小島、珊瑚礁和沙洲的無法預見的重要性。1945年少數美國水手佔領東沙島的一天，在一場以美國為主要戰勝國和日本的唯一佔領國的太平洋戰爭，僅僅是軍工大屠殺中的一個腳註的註腳。今天，按照每個人都同意，它屬於中華民國，但哪一個？簡單想像一下，如果東沙在1945年保持「美國領土」超過一天，那麼21世紀在南中國海的爭議會如何？

John J. Tkacik, Jr. is a retired US foreign service officer who has served in Taipei and Beijing and is now director of the Future Asia Project at the International Assessment and Strategy Center.