Colonel Joseph E. H. Stevenot - Lend Lease Division

COLONEL JOSEPH EMILE HAMILTON STEVENOT (0890043)
LEND LEASE DIVISION
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WWII

Joseph E. H. Stevenot was one of the pioneers of aviation in the Philippines after WWI. He ran the US Army's aviation section on Luzon. Later on he became the Curtiss technical representative in the Far East. He established a flying school which was associated with the Curtiss company. Stevenot and another American pilot, Alfred J. Croft, trained the first pilots in the Philippines and he flew the first aircraft on a mail run to Cebu.

He became Vice President and General Manager of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company after merging a number of telephone companies to form PLDT. In the 1930's he tried his hand at mining, establishing a mining operations company. The local Filipino press frequently reported his social activities. Stevenot and six others established the Boy Scouts of the Philippines and he maintained his involvement with the Boy Scouts movement for the following five years.

Joseph E. H. Stevenot was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Trust Co., Director of the Bank of the Philippine Islands, Director of the Philippine Milling Co., Director of the Philippine Realty Corp., and Director of the Fidelity & Surety Co. of the Philippine Islands.

Joseph Stevenot travelled to the USA and on 21 May 1941 he met with the Secretary of War Henry Stimson. Stevenot encouraged Stimson to approve an increase in the defence budget for the Philippines and encouraged him to build a closer relationship with the military commanders in the Philippines. Stevenot was still a Major in the Army Reserve at that time having held that rank for the previous 20 years.

From September to November 1941 Stevenot and the PLDT were key to the development of the USAAF's air defences in the Philippines. Stevenot managed the construction of the telephone circuits that connected the large network of aerial observers all over Luzon through to the air plotting centre at Nielson Field. The aerial observation posts were manned by Filipinos. Stevenot also had experience in the construction of teletype networks and radio telephone systems all over the Philippines. He also established the first trans-Pacific telephone circuit to the USA.

Stevenot flew in a PAL Beech Staggerwing piloted by Paul "Pappy" Gunn on 7 December 1941 to a small jungle airfield adjacent to the water at Paracale, which was a small mining town located about 120 miles southeast of Manila. "Pappy" landed at Paracale in the middle of a wild storm. The airfield had been turned into a muddy field and the aircraft was damaged to the extent that parts were needed to be flown in.

The next morning, whilst still at Paracale, "Pappy" Gunn heard of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He travelled back to Manila by boat, train and bus to join his family. Stevenot stayed in Paracale for almost a week. Stevenot's reason for travelling to Paracale was probably to assist a detachment of US Army radar personnel to establish communications for their two radar stations back to the air plotting centre at Nielson Field. One of the radar stations was a fixed station using an SCR-271 radar set. The other was a mobile radar set using an SCR-270 radar set. Their commander was Lt Jack Rogers who was also a very experienced electronics specialist.

The detachment had established the mobile radar on a nearby steep mountain by 6 December 1941. Lt Jack Rogers was the only one in the detachment who knew anything about the operation of the radar set. Their only communication was a very tenuous radio link back to Manila. They had no phone links back to the air plotting centre at Nielson Field

The fixed SCR-271 radar set was still in its crate on 8 December 1941. Lt Jack Roger's detachment was ordered back to Manila after the Japanese landed in southern Luzon. The Japanese advance caught the detachment by surprise and some of the men were killed and others escaped and became guerilla fighters. The remainder of the detachment made it back to Manila.

Stevenot returned to MacArthur's Headquarters in Manila and he was commissioned as a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army which also took control of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company. Two other senior officials in the PLDT were also given commissions in the US Army. McCain became a Major and Christenson became a Captain. Lt. Col. Stevenot retreated to Corregidor in late December 1941 with the General and his staff.

A large box labelled "Signal Corps Tubes" arrived with him on Corregidor. It actually contained a stash of alcohol. Stevenot established a direct circuit from the Manila switchboard to the yacht club cable terminal on Corregidor. One of his female employees under Japanese control, would enable Stevenot to eavesdrop on Japanese military conversations. This provided Stevenot valuable intelligence through to February 1942. He eventually stopped the monitoring so as not to risk his employee being tortured or killed by the Japanese if her spying activities were discovered.

General MacArthur was evacuated from Corregidor by PT Boat on 11 March 1942. Stevenot was evacuated from Corregidor in about May 1942 by one of the last US submarines to reach Manila Bay. He travelled on to Australia where he became part of MacArthur's military organisation in his General Headquarters Southwest Pacific Area in the Trustees Executive & Agency Co. Ltd building at 401 - 403 Collins Street in Melbourne.

The last Filipino to escape out of Bataan reported to MacArthur's Headquarters on 25 April 1942 for a meeting with MacArthur and was met by General Richard Marshall and Colonel Stevenot in the outer office to MacArthur's office. Marshall, Stevenot and Diller then took Romulo to dinner at the Menzies Hotel after his meeting with General Douglas MacArthur.

The following entries are from the Office Diary of General Douglas MacArthur whilst he was in Brisbane:-

Colonel Joseph E. H. Stevenot (0890043) appears in the 1 June 1943 edition of the GHQ SWPA military telephone directory in charge of the Lend Lease Division located in "Neville Court" which was used as the residence for Lt. Colonel Fry, the Commanding Officer of the 81st Air Depot Group, while they were based at Eagle Farm Airfield in Brisbane in southern Queensland. The entry in the telephone directory indicates he achieved the rank of Colonel on 18 June 1942. which would have been a short time after his arrival in Australia.

There is a file in the National Archives of Australia titled "G.H.Q. Lend Lease representative (Col. Stevenot), Queries received from G.H.Q. on Lend Lease requisitions".

Photo:- Louise Mowat Collection

General Stivers, Colonel Stevenot, General Marshall and General Spencer Akin.

Joseph Stevenot died in an aircraft crash in the New Hebrides on 8 June 1943. General Douglas MacArthur wrote a personal letter to his widow after his death.

"The American Warrior - Celebrating Two Centuries of Freedom's Defenders" by John R. Bruning

I need your help

Copyright

Disclaimer

Please e-mail me
any information or photographs

"Australia @ War"
8GB USB Memory Stick