The Official Chronology of the U.S. Navy in World War II. Robert J. Cressman
J. McMillin relieves Captain James T. Alexander as Governor of Guam and Commandant U.S. Naval Station, Guam.
U.S. freighters Flying Fish and Charles McCormick are reported safe at Norwegian ports; concern had been expressed over their safety in view of the German invasion of Norway. They had been shifted from Bergen to neighboring, safer places.
21 Sunday
U.S. Military Attaché Captain Robert E. Losey is killed in German bombing raid on Dombas, Norway. U.S. Minister to Sweden Frederick A. Sterling orders Naval Attaché (Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen) to proceed to receive Captain Losey’s remains.
24 Wednesday
U.S. Naval Attaché (Lieutenant Commander Ole E. Hagen) escorts party of American citizens evacuated from Oslo to the interior of Norway and thence across the border into Stockholm in neutral Sweden.
25 Thursday
President Roosevelt issues proclamation declaring that a state of war exists between Germany and Norway, and issues neutrality proclamation concerning same. In addition, he issues proclamation prohibiting Norwegian submarines from entering American waters.
29 Monday
Although the British explanation concerning the removal of German engineers from Philippine motorship Don Isidro at Port Said, Eygpt, on 5 September 1939 fails to satisfy the Department of State, the U.S. government nevertheless considers the incident closed “on the assumption that similar instances will not be permitted to occur in the future.”
30 Tuesday
Fire and rescue party detailed by Commandant Sixth Naval District extinguishes blaze in Norwegian tanker Willy (loaded with aviation gasoline) lying in the Cooper River off Charleston, South Carolina. The sailors save the ship and the city’s waterfront.
MAY
1 Wednesday
Naval Air Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico, is established effective this date, and designated as an activity of the Tenth Naval District. Captain Virgil C. Griffin Jr. is the first commanding officer.
3 Friday
Greenland, a crown colony of Denmark, seeks U.S. protection, so that Danish sovereignty can be maintained during the German occupation of the homeland.
7 Tuesday
President Roosevelt orders U.S. Fleet to remain in Hawaiian waters indefinitely as a deterrent to Japan (see 5 July and 7 October).
8 Wednesday
River gunboat Tutuila (PR 4) is damaged when she runs aground on a reef and becomes stranded as she shifts her anchorage at Chungking, China (see 13 May).
10 Friday
Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The Netherlands and Belgium declare war on Germany.
British troops occupy Iceland.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigns; First Lord of the Admiralty Winston S. Churchill becomes prime minister.
Secretary of State Cordell Hull reiterates that the United States will not stand for any country establishing a protectorate over the Netherlands East Indies. Japanese Foreign Minister indicates his country’s desire to maintain the political and economic status quo in that region.
11 Saturday
President Roosevelt issues proclamations (1) recognizing the state of war that exists between Germany and Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands; (2) proclaiming American neutrality in the conflict; and (3) restricting belligerent submarines from using American ports and territorial waters, exclusive of the Panama Canal Zone.
British and French troops occupy Curaçao and Aruba, Netherlands West Indies. President Roosevelt announces that these actions are not contrary to the Monroe Doctrine.
13 Monday
River gunboat Tutuila (PR 4), stranded on a reef in the Yangtze River off Chungking, China, since 8 May, is refloated.
Dutch Royal Family and government flee to London, England.
14 Tuesday
German troops smash through French lines at Sedan and move toward the English Channel.
Dutch Army capitulates to Germany.
15 Wednesday
British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill (“Former Naval Person”) pleads for U.S. aid in a personal message to President Roosevelt. Churchill’s request is six-fold. First, he requests the loan of 40 or 50 “older destroyers” to bridge the gap between what the Royal Navy has on hand and what is under construction; second, he asks for “several hundred” of the latest planes; third, he asks for antiaircraft “equipment and ammunition”; fourth, he asks that the United States continues to provide Britain with steel; fifth, he asks that a U.S. squadron visit Irish ports; and sixth, he intimates that the United States “keep that Japanese dog quiet in the Pacific, using Singapore in any way convenient” (see 16 May and 11 June).
U.S. Minister in Uruguay, Edwin C. Wilson reports to Secretary of State Cordell Hull that there has been an increase in “Nazi activities” in Uruguay. He notes “indifference and apathy . . . and in certain cases something worse” evidenced by the Uruguayan government. The situation, Wilson warns, “has serious possibilities” (see 20 May).
16 Thursday
President Roosevelt asks Congress to appropriate $546 million for the Army, $250 million for the Navy and Marine Corps, and $100 million for the President to provide for emergencies affecting the national security and defense. He also asks for authorizations for the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps to make contract obligations in the further sum of $186 million, and to the President an additional authorization to make contract obligations for $100 million. He also suggests that 50,000 planes a year be built.
President Roosevelt responds noncommittally to British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill’s telegram of the previous day. Addressing the possible loan of destroyers, Churchill’s first concern, the President informs the “Former Naval Person” that such a step cannot be taken without “specific authorization of the Congress” and that U.S. defense requirements assumed priority. He also informs Churchill that the U.S. Fleet would remain concentrated in Hawaiian waters “at least for the time being.”
17 Friday
President Roosevelt announces plans for recommissioning 35 more “flush-deck” destroyers to meet the requirements of fleet expansion and the Neutrality Patrol.
18 Saturday
British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in a telegram to President Roosevelt, tells of British perseverance but suggests that “if American assistance is to play any part it must be available [soon].”
20 Monday
British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill, in a telegram to President Roosevelt concerning the recent meeting of Lord Lothian (British Ambassador to the United States) with the Chief Executive, acknowledges U.S. difficulties but expresses continuing interest in destroyers. “If they were here in 6 weeks,” Churchill states, “they would play an invaluable part.”
President Roosevelt, in a memorandum to Undersecretary of State Sumner Welles, expresses concern over the situation in Uruguay as reported by U.S. Minister Edwin C. Wilson on 15 May. “Is there some way,” Roosevelt asks Welles, “in which the Minister of Uruguay in Washington and Mr. Wilson in Montevideo can get word to the Uruguayan Government that the United States is concerned?” Undersecretary Welles, in his response to the President that same day, reports that the Uruguayan government has taken steps to investigate Nazi activities in Montevideo (see 26 May).
21 Tuesday
German troops reach the English Channel west of Abbeville, France, splitting the Allied armies and encircling their northern remnant.
24 Friday
President of