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The Rice Paddy Navy: U.S. Sailors Undercover in China
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy knew it would need vital information from the Pacific. Captain Milton ‘Mary’ Miles journeyed to China to set up weather stations and monitor the Chinese coastline—and to spy on the Japanese. After a meeting and a handshake agreement with Chiang Kai-shek's spymaster, General Dai Li, the Sino-American Cooperative Organization was born.
SACO consisted of nearly 3,000 American servicemen (from the Navy, Marines, and Army), 97,000 organized Chinese guerrillas, and 20,000 “individualists,” including rival pirate groups and lone-wolf saboteurs. This top-secret network worked hand in hand with the Nationalist Chinese to fight the Japanese occupation of China while it erected crucial weather stations, intercepted and cracked Japanese code, blew up enemy supply depots, laid mines, destroyed bridges, sank scores of vessels, and trained Chinese peasants in guerrilla warfare. Its work supplied critical information to the U.S. military, rescued more than seventy-five downed aviators, and contributed to the felling of more than 26,000 Japanese—while losing only five of their own men. SACO—“the rice paddy navy”—was one of the best-kept secrets of the war.
Miles and his SACO men battled military attacks, harsh conditions, dangerous weather, and political in-fighting to provide unprecedented intelligence and training that helped further the Allies’ cause in the Pacific. Working at times in tandem and at odds with the OSS, SACO helped build bridges between the Americans and the Chinese in a fight for the security of Asia. In The Rice Paddy Navy, Linda Kush reveals the story of this covert operation, uncovering the military accomplishments, diplomatic ties, and political wrangling that colored one of the most successful—and little known— efforts of World War II.
SACO consisted of nearly 3,000 American servicemen (from the Navy, Marines, and Army), 97,000 organized Chinese guerrillas, and 20,000 “individualists,” including rival pirate groups and lone-wolf saboteurs. This top-secret network worked hand in hand with the Nationalist Chinese to fight the Japanese occupation of China while it erected crucial weather stations, intercepted and cracked Japanese code, blew up enemy supply depots, laid mines, destroyed bridges, sank scores of vessels, and trained Chinese peasants in guerrilla warfare. Its work supplied critical information to the U.S. military, rescued more than seventy-five downed aviators, and contributed to the felling of more than 26,000 Japanese—while losing only five of their own men. SACO—“the rice paddy navy”—was one of the best-kept secrets of the war.
Miles and his SACO men battled military attacks, harsh conditions, dangerous weather, and political in-fighting to provide unprecedented intelligence and training that helped further the Allies’ cause in the Pacific. Working at times in tandem and at odds with the OSS, SACO helped build bridges between the Americans and the Chinese in a fight for the security of Asia. In The Rice Paddy Navy, Linda Kush reveals the story of this covert operation, uncovering the military accomplishments, diplomatic ties, and political wrangling that colored one of the most successful—and little known— efforts of World War II.
- GenresHistoryWorld War II
316 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 2, 2013
My father was a member of SACO. Although he didn't talk a lot about his time as a radioman and doing underwater demolition, he was quite proud of being affiliated with this group and had the utmost respect for Milton Miles and Dai Li. This book was published about two years after my father's death. It reinforced some of the stories I'd heard but also gave me a lot of insight into my father's experiences. I wish I had this book before Dad died, because I could have directed questions to him and possibly found out more about his experiences. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about a little-known piece of history. It is an easy read with stories from men who are a part of the SACO Veteran's Organization as well as other information and stories.
December 7, 2019
During World War II the American Navy established a weather and intelligence network in China to aid the Pacific fleet. Rice Paddy Navy is a history of the secret organization established for this mission and the men who served in it. A good history of a little known aspect of World War II.
December 31, 2012
In the Ambrose work "Band of Brothers," Richard Winters calls his actions "a small part of a very big war." While each person involved in World War II can say such a thing, for the sailors of Navy Group China this was the most apt. These sailors were sent to dry land to set up weather stations in China. In a weird series of twists the head of the Group, Milton Miles, forged an alliance with Generalissimo Chiang's fascist head of internal security - Dai Li. Through this alliance (called SACO, Sino-American Cooperative Organization, Miles set up guerrilla training, commando missions and joint intelligence gathering with the Dai Li's groups.
Kush writes a great piece of journalistic history in recounting the adventures of the sailors and the tribulations of Capt, then Commodore, Miles as he combats not only the Japanese but also the red tape of the American Chiefs of Staff and Chinese government. In twenty chapters we are able to follow the building of the group, the development of logistics stretching from the other side of "the Hump" to isolated weather stations and training camps throughout China.
Weaving together scholarly work and government documents with reminisces of SACO operatives (including the author's father), Kush is able to create a well developed and exciting picture of the War in China. As the sailors faced fire from the japanese from Miles' first scouting trip to the last battle the Navy ever fought under sail - two small Chinese junks versus a larger Japanese junk. We follow them teaching Chinese soldiers and collaborating with pirates and avoiding Japanese and Communists.
This is a must read for World War II enthusiasts. And for those who are interested in China and it's "small part of a very big war."
Kush writes a great piece of journalistic history in recounting the adventures of the sailors and the tribulations of Capt, then Commodore, Miles as he combats not only the Japanese but also the red tape of the American Chiefs of Staff and Chinese government. In twenty chapters we are able to follow the building of the group, the development of logistics stretching from the other side of "the Hump" to isolated weather stations and training camps throughout China.
Weaving together scholarly work and government documents with reminisces of SACO operatives (including the author's father), Kush is able to create a well developed and exciting picture of the War in China. As the sailors faced fire from the japanese from Miles' first scouting trip to the last battle the Navy ever fought under sail - two small Chinese junks versus a larger Japanese junk. We follow them teaching Chinese soldiers and collaborating with pirates and avoiding Japanese and Communists.
This is a must read for World War II enthusiasts. And for those who are interested in China and it's "small part of a very big war."
April 30, 2013
“The Rice Paddy Navy” by Linda Kush is a must read for anyone interested in WWII, the art of the spymaster, or the complex history of American/Chinese relations. The book tells the story of a little known, undercover operation in China by the US Navy that began just after Pearl Harbor and which has remained largely untold before the publication of this book.
The Japanese Navy hid behind a weather front to avoid detection off Hawaii in advance of the attack at Pearl Harbor. The Americans realized they had no insight into weather patterns across Asia and the Pacific and would remain at a decided disadvantage against the Japanese until this situation was remedied.
The US Navy sent Captain Milton “Molly” Miles to China to set up a weather forecasting system, harass the Japanese, and aid the Chinese. This effort succeeded beyond expectations, yet the story of this operation has remained largely untold.
SACO, the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, started with a handshake between Miles and Chinese Spymaster Dai Li. It grew to a contingent of 2500 US sailors working across China to provide the US Navy with daily weather forecasts. They trained and went into battle with 97,000 Chinese guerrillas to sabotage Japanese operations, rescue downed pilots, and kill the enemy. They are credited with over 26,000 Japanese deaths at the loss of five US sailors.
SACO succeeded to a large degree because these Americans immersed themselves in the Chinese culture. They treated the Chinese with respect: they ate what they ate, they lived how they lived. This approach was in contrast to the more colonial attitudes of the Operation of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to the CIA. The “old China hands” of the OSS thought they knew better than the Chinese with whom they worked. The US Army’s bureaucracy and the high minded attitudes of the US State Department are also not exempt from criticism.
I have been wondering if Chinese history might not have been quite different in the decade after WWII if the SACO philosophy had been more prevalent in our dealings with the Chinese than that of other American entities during the Chinese Civil War of 1945 to 1949.
Ms. Kush has written a thoroughly researched history, but her crisp writing style sets her work apart from most academic writing. Her characters come alive, and we experience their struggles and sense the incredible danger that they are in. She writes with a verve and a clarity that reminds us that the best war and spy novels are those born of historical truth.
The Japanese Navy hid behind a weather front to avoid detection off Hawaii in advance of the attack at Pearl Harbor. The Americans realized they had no insight into weather patterns across Asia and the Pacific and would remain at a decided disadvantage against the Japanese until this situation was remedied.
The US Navy sent Captain Milton “Molly” Miles to China to set up a weather forecasting system, harass the Japanese, and aid the Chinese. This effort succeeded beyond expectations, yet the story of this operation has remained largely untold.
SACO, the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, started with a handshake between Miles and Chinese Spymaster Dai Li. It grew to a contingent of 2500 US sailors working across China to provide the US Navy with daily weather forecasts. They trained and went into battle with 97,000 Chinese guerrillas to sabotage Japanese operations, rescue downed pilots, and kill the enemy. They are credited with over 26,000 Japanese deaths at the loss of five US sailors.
SACO succeeded to a large degree because these Americans immersed themselves in the Chinese culture. They treated the Chinese with respect: they ate what they ate, they lived how they lived. This approach was in contrast to the more colonial attitudes of the Operation of Strategic Services (OSS), the predecessor to the CIA. The “old China hands” of the OSS thought they knew better than the Chinese with whom they worked. The US Army’s bureaucracy and the high minded attitudes of the US State Department are also not exempt from criticism.
I have been wondering if Chinese history might not have been quite different in the decade after WWII if the SACO philosophy had been more prevalent in our dealings with the Chinese than that of other American entities during the Chinese Civil War of 1945 to 1949.
Ms. Kush has written a thoroughly researched history, but her crisp writing style sets her work apart from most academic writing. Her characters come alive, and we experience their struggles and sense the incredible danger that they are in. She writes with a verve and a clarity that reminds us that the best war and spy novels are those born of historical truth.
December 5, 2013
There are dozens of gems that have come out over the years covering previously ignored aspects of World War II. For military history buffs, especially those who enjoy reading about American involvement in China prior to the beginning of the war and thereafter, “The Rice Paddy Navy” is an eye-opener. The 2,500 U.S. Sailors – those who operated the weather stations, conducted coast watch duties keeping track of the Japanese fleet, training Nationalist Chinese in the art of guerilla warfare, espionage and sabotage behind Japanese lines, rescuing downed American pilots, and operating as the Yangtze River Raiders, sinking enemy ships and causing panic amongst the Japanese – is one of those gems. Throw in a good history lesson on the evolvement of Chinese politics (think Chiang Kai-shek and Mao), and the author’s work becomes a revealing story, especially shedding light on the inter-agency rivalries between the Army, Navy and the OSS (the precursor of the CIA) and how each of them wanted to handle China.
November 16, 2024
Phenomenal story of a forgotten and over-shadowed organization. The ties to the ROC (Taiwan) and the pre-1949 relationship America had with the Chinese leave hope for a better future of Sino-American relations. Key takeaways for anyone in the UW profession.
February 7, 2021
Entertaining read, light in detail though, but still a very pleasant read.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews