Reminiscences of Capt. Henri Smith-Hutton, USN (Ret.), vol. I

Anyone with an interest in the operations of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet during the pre-World War II period will find much of interest in this memoir. Following graduation from the Naval Academy in 1922, Smith-Hutton had several tours of duty on the old China Station and then went to Tokyo for study of the Japanese language. He subsequently served in the cruiser USS Houston (CA-30) and as fleet intelligence officer on the Asiatic Fleet staff. Later tours included attaché duty in Tokyo, serving as exec of the destroyer USS Lawrence (DD-250), and communication officer of the cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31). Smith-Hutton was U.S. naval attaché, and attaché for air, stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo when World War II broke out. In this volume, he describes the experience of being interned in hostile Japan for the first six months of World War II, then being repatriated to the United States on board the neutral liner MS Gripsholm. Volume II begins with Smith-Hutton’s return to the United States and his service from 1942 to 1944 as fleet intelligence officer on the staff of Admiral E.J. King, who was CominCh. Later in the war, he commanded Destroyer Squadron 15 in the Pacific, later converted to Mine Squadron 21. After the war he had staff duty in the Pacific and then commanded the light cruiser USS Little Rock (CL-92). Following temporary duty on the OpNav staff, he had a tour as U.S. naval attaché and attaché for air to France and Switzerland, then retired from active duty in 1952. Following his retirement he remained in Europe to work for Radio Free Europe.