Susumu Toyoda

"Admirable Admiral"

This story is about a United States Navy admiral so well admired by the people of Yokosuka , Japan that its citizens wanted the admiral to remain in their city and become its mayor. I became aware of this unusual situation when the mayor of Yokosuka and several council members visited General Matthew B. Ridgway, Supreme Commander Allied Powers, to seek his assistance in retaining Admiral Decker, the Yokosuka Base Commander, in Japan. At the time I was interpreter-aide to General Ridgway.

The mayor thanked the General for receiving the delegation and explained the reason for their visit. They had recently learned of "their admiral" being transferred back to the United States but hoped that somehow the admiral could be retained in Yokosuka. The mayor asked General Ridgway for his help in keeping the admiral in Japan. The General explained that all military personnel are subject to periodic transfers designed to enhance their careers and that the admiral's next assignment could result in a promotion which all military personnel look forward to. The General said even though he was the Supreme Commander and the admiral was his subordinate in operational matters in the Far East, US Navy headquarters in Washington ruled supreme in personnel matters. Besides, even he was subject to periodic changes in assignments.

The mayor then asked the General if he could ask the admiral to resign his commission and become the civilian mayor of Yokosuka City. The General patiently explained that he could not ask a fellow military man to resign his commission before his career was up. The mayor and his party accepted the General's reasons for not being able to help them in this matter.

It may well be that this was a first in the annals of United States Naval history that an admiral, a member of the occupying forces, is asked to become the mayor of a city in a vanquished nation.