The Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna

I admit a continuing fascination with the various foreign navies that patrolled the inland waterways of China in the early to middle twentieth century.

I am rereading The Sand Pebbles by Richard McKenna, and I decided to do an internet search on the Yangtze Patrol and related topics.

I found a treasure trove of websites:

The Sand Pebbles Motion Picture Website: http://www.thesandpebbles.com/

U.S.S. San Pablo
and the Yangtze Patrol: http://www.cityofart.net/bship/sand_pebbles.html

USS Panay Memorial Website: http://www.usspanay.org/index.shtml

Take a look and enjoy!

Trivia: What was apparently the only job on the fictional USS San Pablo that Chinese nationals were not permitted to do on behalf of U.S. navy personnel?

The book is great and the movie, with Steve McQueen is pretty good as well.

As I recall from the book, the only thing the Chinese were not allowed to handle were weapons. That left Restoroff, the gunner's mate, to do all of his own work.

A good history about the Navy in China is Yangtze Patrol by Kemp Tolley.

RE: 3

You are right! The Chinese were not allowed to clean or handle the weopons. So Restoroff and his group were the only sailors on board who conducted their traditional duties.