Abridged Version of the Formation & Operation of the U S Army Small Ship Section
The United States Army Small Ships was a unique organisation and it owes its existence to John Sheridan Fahnestock, later Colonel, his commitment and dedication to his beliefs and his outstanding leadership ensured its success

In 1940 Sheridan  Fahnestock led a South Seas expedition on a 130ft, 3 masted fishing schooner named Director 11, which unfortunately ran aground on a reef outside of Gladstone Australia and was wrecked, and all the crew returned to the United States and went their various ways.

In 1942 Captain Sheridan Fahnestock ,met with  Brigadier General Arthur Wilson and showed him a plan  of how by using the crew that he had used  on the  vessel  Director 11 on the  South Sea expedition in 1940, it would be possible to raise the vessels and the men to man them to re supply the forces fighting the Japanese in the Philippine islands.

On studying the concept submitted by Captain  Fahnestock, Brig General Wilson agreed to the plan and called it Mission X, Captain  Fahnestock then recruited, his brother Bruce Fahnestock who then became a 1st Lt (he was later killed in New Guinea in 1943 by friendly fire)while Ladislaw Reday, Philip Farley ,Dawson C Glover ,Bob Wilson, all became 2nd Lts, in the United States Army.

It was decided to use Australia  as the base and on arriving in Melbourne, Australia they found that the American Army in The Philippines had surrendered and that General Macarthur and his staff had arrived in Australia, and were based in Melbourne, General  MacArthur’s plan for the coming fight with the Japanese Forces was to draw a line in the sand and New Guinea was to be that line.

The task for Captain  Fahnestock and his crew was to confiscate ,purchase, or lease any and all vessels  that they could find that that were of a shallow draft  and were capable of transporting troops to the battle front (there were no landing craft available at this time) and also capable of re supplying these forces, both Australian & American forces, that were fighting the Japanese in New Guinea.

The crews to man these vessels came from a variety of avenues ,some were on the vessels when they were taken over, the Australian Government allowed the US Army to hire boys with a minimum age of 15 – 17 years and men who were over the required military enlistment age or medically unfit for Australian Military service.

 In 1943 there was a severe shortage of crew, so the Australian Government of the day allowed the Small Ships to run a training school for 15 year old boys of 1 months duration and then they were sent to New Guinea to man vessels in the combat area.

The Small Ships and their crews served in New Guinea, then went onto serve in Cape Glouster ,Biak Morotai, The Philippines, Okinawa and the liberation of Chosen as Korea was then known and the Occupation of Japan until January 1947 when the office in the Grace Building was closed and a unique organisation was finally disbanded.