For years our country has been working patiently to establish lines of communication with the sentiment of the East. In that endeavor, we have not always been successful. Our motives have been distorted by the Reds and we have been misrepresented as dollar diplomats. In some instances, caught helplessly in the web of world politics, we have been branded as partners of imperialist.
Yet it seems to us that if our people keep at it, we will achieve results.
One bright spot broke into print very recently. It must have stirred the imagination of many Americans when it was reported that the U.S. destroyer “ROWAN,” in answer to a radioed distress call from a Japanese fishing boat, tore into a typhoon to rescue those aboard the tiny vessel from mountainous seas and a 150 mile per hour wind.
The “ROWAN’s”act of everyday heroism must have left a sharp imprint on many an Oriental mind, no matter how complex or how simple. It spelled out in banner type , the high ideals of America, particularly the high value we place on human life. If to the man of the East a picture is really worth ten thousand words, the image of American steaming into a tropical storm to the aid of a stricken vessel must have told a dramatic story.
The heroic deeds of the “ROWAN” and her sister ships will help us convince our brothers of the East that the many acts of mercy performed by other benevolent arms of America– in healing the sick, in feeding the hungry, in helping others to help themselves–are true acts of neighborliness and friendship, with no strings attached.
Author unknown