Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942

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Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941-1942 Page 69

by Ian W. Toll


  150 Lexington: Morison, The Rising Sun in the Pacific, pp. 235–37.

  151 “We are wasting”: Potter, Bull Halsey, p. 16.

  151 Entries in the CINCPAC war diary: “Running Summary of Situation,” Dec. 12 entry; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, p. 45.

  151 December 13: “Running Summary of Situation,” Dec. 13 entry; ibid., p. 46.

  151 “Wake Island’s indomitable”: AP story quoted in Sloan, Given Up for Dead, p. 192.

  151 “Send us more Japs!”: Cunningham, Wake Island Command, p. 109.

  152 “More Japanese”: Kinney, Wake Island Pilot, p. 69.

  152 “The picture conjured up”: Cunningham, Wake Island Command, p. 110.

  152 “was confusion superimposed”: Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets, p. 42.

  152 what business did the fleet have: “OPNAV to CINCPAC,” Dec. 17, 1941; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, p. 70.

  152 a “liability”: “OPNAV to CINCPAC,” Dec. 22, 1941; ibid., p. 72.

  153 In notes recorded that day: “Estimate by Admiral Pye on 20 December”; ibid., p. 76.

  153 On the 21st, Pye informed Admiral Stark: “CINCPAC to OPNAV,” Dec. 21, 1941; ibid., p. 72.

  153 “full of bullet holes”: Commander NAS Wake to Commandant, 14th Naval District, Dec. 20, 1941.

  155 “Enemy apparently landing”: Morison, The Rising Sun in the Pacific, p. 248.

  155 “The enemy is on the island”: Ibid. (Some sources mistakenly attribute this message to Maj. Devereux.)

  155 In a strongly worded memo: “Estimate by Captain McMorris as to action regarding enemy investing Wake 0800 December 22, 1941”; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, pp. 80–81.

  155 “Are we willing”: “Decision by Admiral Draemel as to action regarding enemy investing Wake—0700—22 December”; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, p. 82 (italics in the original).

  156 At 9:11 a.m. on December 22: Morison, The Rising Sun in the Pacific, p. 252.

  156 “Admiral Pye had had a scare”: George C. Dyer account in Stillwell, ed., Air Raid—Pearl Harbor!, p. 46.

  156 “To lose to an enemy”: Layton account in ibid., p. 283.

  156 was forced to withdraw . . . “By Gad!”: Morison, The Rising Sun in the Pacific, pp. 252, 254.

  156 “confessed to God”: Jones and Jones, Hawaii Goes to War, p. 38.

  157 “The parallel was sickening”: Casey, Torpedo Junction, p. 33.

  157 “with whatever they used”: Holmes, Double-Edged Secrets, p. 42.

  157 “just kept shaking his head”: Frank L. DeLorenzo account in Russell, ed., No Right to Win, p. 10.

  157 “What news of the relief”: Layton, “And I Was There,” p. 353.

  157 “This is a terrible sight”: Potter, Nimitz, p. 20.

  157 “You have my sympathy”: Ibid., p. 17.

  158 “He had little reason”: Wilfred Jay Holmes account in Stillwell, ed., Air Raid—Pearl Harbor!, p. 255.

  158 “I thought Admiral Nimitz”: Ewing, “Nimitz,” pp. 1–2.

  158 “war correspondents”: Morison, The Rising Sun in the Pacific, p. 256.

  159 “aura of calm confidence”: Holmes account in Stillwell, ed., Air Raid—Pearl Harbor!, p. 255.

  159 “the incisive thrust”: Layton, “And I Was There,” p. 354.

  159 “could have been devastatingly”: Nimitz, “God’s Divine Will,” in Stillwell, ed., Air Raid—Pearl Harbor!, p. 261.

  159 the navy had lost: Prange, Goldstein, and Dillon, At Dawn We Slept, p. 539.

  159 some 300,000 tons: Lord, Day of Infamy, p. 212.

  159 “That was a most serious error”: Ewing, “Nimitz,” p. 11.

  159 “a seventeen knot fleet”: Casey, Torpedo Junction, p. 132.

  160 He later quipped: Potter, Nimitz, p. 23.

  160 “reasonably frank”: Casey, Torpedo Junction, p. 59.

  160 “These were all fine men”: Ewing, “Nimitz,” p. 5.

  160 “I know most of you”: William Waldo Drake account in Stillwell, ed., Air Raid—Pearl Harbor!, p. 269.

  160 “certain key members”: Potter, Nimitz, p. 25.

  160 “In a very few minutes”: Drake account in Stillwell, ed., Air Raid—Pearl Harbor!, p. 269.

  Chapter Five

  161 Admiral Ernest J. King: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 10.

  161 always immaculately turned out: Photo in Reynolds, On the Warpath in the Pacific, p. 207.

  161 “We won”: Whitehill, “A Note on the Making of This Book,” in King and Whitehill, Fleet Admiral King, p. 652.

  163 “He told me” . . . “hard knocks”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, pp. 64, 39, and 71.

  164 “King justified himself”: Ibid., p. 57.

  164 “inertia to change”: Quoted in ibid., p. 28.

  165 “The next time” . . . “He didn’t need”: Ibid., pp. 91, 86.

  165 “jackknifing his long frame”: Ibid., pp. 115, 91, and 111.

  166 “shaved with a blowtorch”: Tully, F. D. R.: My Boss, p. 263.

  166 “I don’t care”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 87.

  166 “If a man knew”: Reynolds, On the Warpath in the Pacific, p. 95.

  166 “You ought to be very suspicious”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 89.

  167 “the most even-tempered man”: Stoler, Allies and Adversaries, p. 69.

  167 “Dear Harriet”: Whitehill, “A Note on the Making of This Book,” in King and Whitehill, Fleet Admiral King, p. 651.

  169 “King of the Atlantic”: Life magazine, Nov. 24, 1941, p. 92.

  169 “Well”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 150.

  169 “We’re living in a fool’s paradise”: Ibid., p. 152.

  169 “Where the power is” . . . “Nothing was ready”: Ibid., pp. 153–54.

  170 “I am fully in sympathy”: Ibid., p. 156.

  170 “I found Admiral King”: Rr. Adm. Richard S. Edwards quoted in ibid., pp. 155–56.

  170 The decor was spartan: King and Whitehill, Fleet Admiral King, description from photograph; illustrations after p. 368.

  171 “in the same boat”: FDR to WC, Dec. 8, 1941, in Loewenheim, Langley, and Jonas, eds., Roosevelt and Churchill: Their Secret Wartime Correspondence, p. 169.

  171 “Now that we are”: WC to FDR, Dec. 9, 1941, in ibid.

  172 “We do not think”: WC to FDR, Dec. 10, 1941, in ibid., p. 170.

  172 “Delighted to have you”: FDR to WC, Dec. 10, 1941, in ibid., p. 171.

  172 a “wicked leer”: Alanbrooke, War Diaries, 1939–1945, p. 209.

  172 “the longest week”: Churchill to Clementine Churchill, Dec. 21, 1941, in Soames, ed., Winston and Clementine: The Personal Letters of the Churchills, pp. 459–60.

  172 “Washington represented”: Goodwin, No Ordinary Time, p. 301.

  173 “I clasped his strong hand”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 587.

  173 “I suppose that is why”: Moran, Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, 1940–1965, p. 25.

  173 “It had not occurred to him”: Chadakoff, ed., Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day: Her Acclaimed Columns, 1936–1945, p. 227.

  173 “I have a toast”: Beard, President Roosevelt and the Coming of the War, 1941, p. 555.

  173 “My report home”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 558.

  174 “Now, Fields”: Goodwin, No Ordinary Time, p. 302.

  174 “chubby, florid”: Tully, F. D. R.: My Boss, p. 300.

  175 they ate lunch from plates: Ibid.

  175 “The Prime Minister of Great Britain”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 442.

  175 “We live here as”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 686.

  175 “We may wake up”: The Public Papers and Addresses of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1941), pp. 588, 589, and 591.

  176 The Washington Star . . . Newsweek: Meacham, Franklin and Winston, pp. 142, 144.

  176 “my associate”: Black, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom, p. 705.

  176 “I can not feel myself”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 594.

&
nbsp; 176 “there was little joy”: Eleanor Roosevelt, This I Remember, p. 243.

  177 “I cannot help reflecting”: “Winston Churchill, Speech to Joint Session of Congress,” Dec. 26, 1941, in Gilbert, ed., The Churchill War Papers: The Ever-Widening War, Vol. 3: 1941, p. 1685.

  177 “What sort of people”: Ibid.

  177 “Who could doubt”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 595.

  177 “instantaneous, electric”: Meacham, Franklin and Winston, p. 154.

  177 “I hit the target”: Moran, Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, 1940–1965, p. 16.

  177 “He loved the ceremony”: Meacham, Franklin and Winston, p. 144.

  178 “ate, and thoroughly enjoyed”: Reilly and Slocum, Reilly of the White House, p. 125.

  178 “it was rarely observed”: McIntire, White House Physician, p. 132.

  178 “There is no question”: Goodwin, No Ordinary Time, p. 303.

  178 “the conversation was mostly”: Rosenman, Working with Roosevelt, p. 319.

  179 “grew genuinely to like”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 478.

  179 “hero-worshipped”: Black, Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom, p. 695.

  179 “The Limeys have”: Stilwell and White, eds., The Stilwell Papers, p. 16.

  179 “Fundamental basis of joint strategy”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 445.

  180 “They knew their stuff”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 163.

  180 a secret memorandum to Roosevelt: Marshall, Stark, Arnold, and King, “Memorandum for the President,” Jan. 14, 1942. Folder: American–British Joint Chiefs of Staff Index; President’s Secretary’s File (hereafter PSF), Safe Files, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, NY.

  181 “As far as I know”: Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, p. 28.

  181 “was well understood”: Ewing, “Nimitz,” p. 11.

  181 “The minimum forces”: Marshall, Stark, Arnold, and King, “Memorandum for the President,” Jan. 14, 1942.

  181 “but it was to prove difficult”: Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, p. 28.

  182 a “small degree less important”: “COMINCH to CINCPAC,” Dec. 30, 1941; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, p. 121.

  182 which King defined: Adm. King, “Memorandum for the President,” March 5, 1942, in King and Whitehill, Fleet Admiral King, pp. 384–85.

  182 “two vital Pacific tasks”: Glen Perry to Edmund P. Bartnett, Nov. 7, 1942, regarding King’s off-the-record press conference, in Perry, “Dear Bart,” pp. 88–89.

  184 The Allies could only guess: “COMINCH to CINCAF, INFO CINCPAC,” Dec. 31, 1941; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, p. 122.

  184 policy of “hold and build”: See King’s “Memorandum for the President,” March 5, 1942, in King and Whitehill, Fleet Admiral King, pp. 384–85.

  184 “hold what you’ve got”: King to Navy Secretary Frank Knox, Feb. 8, 1942, quoted in ibid., p. 373.

  184 “No fighter ever won”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 121.

  185 “I’ve been insisting”: Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, p. 22.

  185 “I renew my solemn pledge”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 454.

  185 “Without any inhibitions”: Australia and the Pacific, Australian Institute of International Affairs, p. 15.

  186 “deterrent to a Japanese attack”: Stoler, Allies and Adversaries, pp. 73–74.

  186 “The Navy wants to take”: Morton, U.S. Army in World War II, p. 218.

  187 “three or four”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 606.

  187 Some 8,000 troops: United States–British Chiefs of Staff, “Defense of Island Bases between Hawaii and Australia,” Jan. 13, 1942. Folder: Arcadia Index, 1941–42; PSF, Safe Files, FDR Library, Hyde Park, NY.

  187 “Lord Root of the Matter”: Kimball, ed., Churchill and Roosevelt: The Complete Correspondence, Vol. 1, p. 87n.

  187 It was agreed that: United States–British Chiefs of Staff, “Defense of Island Bases between Hawaii and Australia,” Jan. 13, 1942.

  188 “Even while I spoke”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 680.

  188 “I am convinced”: Ambrose, The Supreme Commander: The War Years of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, p. 26.

  188 “There are difficulties”: Hayes, The History of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in World War II: The War Against Japan, p. 46.

  189 “lukewarm”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 164.

  190 “You should work on Churchill”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 457.

  190 “Don’t be in a hurry”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 597.

  190 The ABDACOM theater: United States–British Chiefs of Staff, “Directive to the Supreme Commander in the ABDA Area,” Jan. 2, 1942. Folder: ABCD Powers II Index, 1941–42; PSF, Safe Files, FDR Library, Hyde Park, NY.

  190 “I was complimented”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 597.

  190 He counterproposed: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 166.

  190 “it was evident”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, pp. 597, 599.

  191 “The whole scheme [is] wild”: Entry for Dec. 29, 1941, Alanbrooke, War Diaries, 1939–1945, p. 215.

  191 “appropriate joint body”: “Minutes,” United States–British Chiefs of Staff Conference, Dec. 29, 1941. Folder: Arcadia Index, 1941–42; PSF, Safe Files, FDR Library, Hyde Park, NY.

  192 “It was obvious”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 169.

  192 “The suggestion of an”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 469.

  192 “provoked more heated argument”: Ibid., pp. 470–71, 472.

  193 “I could see no reason”: Alanbrooke, War Diaries, 1939–1945, p. 216.

  193 “sold the birthright”: Ibid., entry dated Feb. 9, 1942, p. 228.

  193 “possessed with one idea”: Moran, Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, 1940–1965, p. 20.

  193 “Britain and America were now”: Gilbert, Churchill and America, p. 254.

  193 “There was never a failure”: Churchill, The Grand Alliance, p. 609.

  194 “utterly inadequate”: Letter, Beaverbrook to FDR, Dec. 29, 1941. Folder: Beaverbrook, Lord, Index; PSF, Safe Files, FDR Library, Hyde Park, NY.

  194 should be revised upward: “U.S. production goals for 1942” . . . “Memorandum for the President,” Lord Beaverbrook, Dec. 29, 1941. Folder: Beaverbrook, Lord, Index.

  194 “As for the navy” and the statistics that follow: See Davidson, The Unsinkable Fleet, pp. 32–33.

  194 “We must raise our sights”: State of the Union address, Jan. 6, 1942. The American Presidency Project, Santa Barbara, CA, online at www.presidency.ucsb.edu.

  194 “Oh—the production people”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 474.

  194 “He is drunk”: Moran, Winston Churchill: The Struggle for Survival, 1940–1965, p. 22.

  194 “gone in for the ‘numbers racket’!”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 473.

  195 “was the best of the lot”: Ibid., p. 475.

  196 “really ran the war”: Leahy, I Was There, p. 106.

  196 “were not above learning”: Gelb, Desperate Venture, p. 47.

  196 “King knew he had to”: Spector, Eagle Against the Sun, p. 125.

  196 “I have no intention whatever”: Buell, Master of Sea Power, p. 166.

  197 wearing a “semi-scowl”: Adamic, Dinner at the White House, pp. 25–27.

  198 “You would have been quite proud”: Sherwood, Roosevelt and Hopkins, p. 478.

  198 “It is fun to be”: Ibid., p. 494.

  198 demanded a vote of confidence: “I Demand a Vote of Confidence,” Jan. 27, 1942, in Churchill, ed., Never Give In!: The Best of Winston Churchill’s Speeches, pp. 324–25.

  Chapter Six

  199 secure cable dated January 2, 1942: “COMINCH to CINCPAC,” Jan. 2, 1942; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, p. 122.

  200 “cut our offensive strength”: Layton, “And I Was There,” p. 356.

  200 “I think General Forrest’s”: Potter, Bull Halsey, p. 37.

  201 “expec
ted admirals”: Morison, The Rising Sun in the Pacific, p. 256.

  201 “As the general rule”: Thomas, Sea of Thunder, p. 36.

  201 “thundering away”: Kernan, Crossing the Line, p. 36.

  201 Halsey had lived his entire life: Details of Halsey’s early career in Potter, Bull Halsey, pp. 23–31.

  202 “everyone’s friend”: Ibid., p. 32.

  202 Enemy radio traffic had risen: See Layton, “And I Was There,” pp. 359–60.

  203 “Are loading for bear”: Stafford, The Big E, p. 41.

  203 “All sorts of luck”: Potter, Bull Halsey, p. 39.

  203 “raise a little hell”: Lundstrom, The First Team, p. 58.

  204 “a labor of the damned”: Kernan, Crossing the Line, p. 38.

  204 One of the SBDs: Stafford, The Big E, p. 44.

  205 They were learning: “Running Summary of Situation,” Jan. 2, 1942; CINCPAC Grey Book, Bk. 1, p. 121.

  205 “intensely dramatic”: Casey, Torpedo Junction, p. 104.

  206 “May I suggest”: Ibid., p. 105.

  207 “Somebody observed”: Ibid., p. 135.

  207 “It was one of those plans”: Potter, Bull Halsey, p. 41.

  207 “Instead of just a hit and run”: Dickinson, The Flying Guns, p. 70.

  207 Bankson T. Holcomb, Jr.: Layton, “And I Was There,” pp. 362.

  207 “That yellow belly”: Potter, Bull Halsey, p. 42.

  208 “It is essential”: Potter, Nimitz, p. 37.

  208 The captain of the Salt Lake City: Casey, Torpedo Junction, pp. 141–42.

  208 They were relying upon: Jones and Jones, Hawaii Goes to War, p. 39.

  209 “seem to feel as if”: Casey, Torpedo Junction, pp. 101–2.

  209 “theirs was a better navy”: Kernan, Crossing the Line, p. 36.

  209 “No fighters!”: Dickinson, The Flying Guns, pp. 69–92, 72.

  210 “Many were silent”: Ibid., pp. 71–72.

  213 “one of the most glorious fireworks”: Ibid., p. 87.

  213 “An eccentric rain”: Ibid.

  214 “suitable objectives”: CO of USS Enterprise to CINCPAC, “Report of action on February 1, 1942 against Marshall Island Group,” Feb. 7, 1942; online at www.cv6.org/ship/logs/action19420201.htm.

  214 “a vast ruffle of beach sand”: Dickinson, The Flying Guns, p. 91.

 

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