"It seemed unlikely that any troops would try. to eross the river in our vicinity. "In selecting this spot I had fu mind, primarily, the safety of the Panay and the refugees whom she was carrying, but also the safety and well being of the American ships in the convoy and their personnel, "Immediately upon anchoring posted: sentry lookouts for airplanes and troops movements. I later allowed a party of eight men to visit the Mel Ping nearby. These men were still on board Mel Ping when the attack started and therefore were tunable to return to ship."
Cmdr, Hughes described his tonishment on discovering the planes overhead intended to attack. noted that the weather was clear with good visibility and that there was no wind.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.