SACO Links and Other Information

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Links and More Information About SACO

Books

I've read several good books written by U.S. Navy veterans that describe their experiences with SACO in China during World War II. These include "Ninety Day Wonder" by John Horton, "Sampan Sailor" by Clayton Mishler, and "Wen Bon" by Byron Winborn. Interestingly, all three books were published in 1994 – apparently a good year for wartime reminiscences. There's also a good description of SACO in the book "Scouts and Raiders" (1993) by John Dwyer.

There were, however, two good books written specifically about SACO:

"A Different Kind of War" by Vice-Admiral Milton Miles (1967)

This is the definitive book about SACO. Written by Vice-Admiral Milton Miles, the U.S. commander of SACO forces in China, it describes SACO's fascinating history and Miles' friendship with Chinese General Tai Li, and it contains several dozen photos. This engaging and well-written book is out of print, but you can sometimes find used copies of it online. I describe this book in more detail on my page, A Different Kind of War.

"The Rice Paddy Navy" by Roy Stratton (1950)

This book describes more of the "nuts and bolts" of SACO. Originally printed in 1950, it was out-of-print for many years and was difficult to find. However, 750 paperback copies were reprinted in July 2004. You might be able to find used copies of this book online.

Links and Online Rosters

There's a great website dedicated to SACO at https://saconavy.net/. This is a good place to start if you want to learn more about SACO. It has a searchable roster of the men who served in SACO at: https://saconavy.net/saco-men/.

Organizations

The SACO Veterans organization has held a reunion each year since 1954. I learned about these reunions in 2004 and shortly afterwards I attended their 50th reunion, held in Seattle, Washington (see photos below). The reunion was a three-day affair attended by approximately 100 people, mostly SACO veterans and their relatives, and was a lot of fun.

As of this writing, in 2020, I'm not sure how many SACO veterans are still alive, but probably the best way to get in contact with SACO veterans or their relatives is to attend the annual reunion. If you are seeking information about a SACO veteran or would like to share a story about a veteran, your best bet is to submit a Letter to the Editor to the SACO newsletter. If you would like to join the SACO Veterans organization and receive the newsletter, please write to the contact below:

SACO Veterans Organization: Annual dues are $35 as of October 2020. For information about becoming a member of the SACO Veterans organization, please contact: https://saconavy.net/

YouTube Videos

I stumbled across a YouTube channel called "Saco Navy" while I was writing this webpage in 2020. The author has posted six short 8-millimeter videos, without sound, of SACO veterans at Happy Valley during the early years of World War II, and each video is apparently narrated by SACO's leader, Commander (later Vice-Admiral) " Mary" Miles.

It sounds like Miles narrated these videos at a reunion of his SACO men because you can hear chatter in the background. It must have been sometime in the 1950s, I believe, because Miles died in 1961. The videos are grainy but interesting, and you can hear Miles' voice. Here's a link to the channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfGfStPLcizJ0kJZXXgQekA.

Table of Contents:

SACO: The Sino-American Cooperative Organization