Navy History

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Comment by Paige on November 14, 2009 at 4:50pm

Thanks for the book recommendation Paul. I've got to get started reading the ones I have. The new job has been keeping me very busy!! I'll add In Harm's Way to my wish list. I'm familiar with the story. I'm sure it's an exciting book!

CCR,
Welcome to our Navy History Group! We'll appreciate your experience from the History group you created on N4M's.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on November 6, 2009 at 9:20am

I have a book recommendation: In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton. It details the sinking of the USS Indianapolis and extraordinary story of the survivors. After delivering the atomic bomb to Tinaian, the Indy was sunk by a Japanese sub and was not reported as missing for 4 days. Of the estimated 800 that went into the water, due to sharks and exposure only 317 came out after up to 100 hours in the sea with no food or water. The captain was court-martialed for the sinking of his vessel in combat....finally in July of 2001 Captain McVay (he shot himself in '68) was exonerated by the Navy.....56 years after the sinking. It is an amazing story of survival and I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in learning more about one of the pivital naval events of 1945.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 25, 2009 at 6:08pm

When it comes to it, Halsey was marketable and sold tons of war bonds. I think it is a prime example of the sum of the images of someone is greater than the individual....it is something everyone should be vigilant for when placing people in leadership roles............

Comment by Larry Huffman on September 25, 2009 at 10:35am

Regarding Halsey: I grew up a Navy brat. I lived on bases most of my young life, and was surrounded by all things Navy. My dad was a lifer officer. When I ws young I read a short little kid oriented biography of Bull Halsey (there was a series of books that were about 100 pages each, and they covered war heroes...Patton, MacCarthur, Nimitz, Ike...I lvoed those books...hehe). The book was nothing but favorable as I recall...did not even hint that he may not have been what his legend suggested. For wahtever reason I latched onto him as a hero, and made this view known to my dad one day. I remember very clearly, though I did not understand why at the time, my father kind of chuckling about it and saying something like, "Yeah, well, there were others in WWII who were much more deserving of being called heroes for what they did than Halsey." It baffled me why my Navy officer dad would say something like that.

As I got older and began to study...I have always been a military history buff...I learned why my dad said what he said. He was right, Halsey never really led in an engagement where he outsmarted or out-leadershipped the enemy, as Nimitz, Fletcher and Kincaid (to name a few) did. Even Midway, which he would have figured prominantly in, he was in Australia with a severe skin rash. Who knows, after learning of his record when he is on station, maybe it was fortunate that he was not part of Midway.

I think Halsey, as much as any other, is an example of a person's mythology standing taller than his actions. Sure, his service cannot be doubted...he was a career sailor, and I am sure he earned his reputation though all of those early years leading up to the war, deservedly. During the pre-war years, I am also sure that his larger than life persona and the bravado with which he carried himself heped to give people confidence and secured his legendary status. But, when you look at his wartime actions, his mistakes and bad decisions overshadowed any positive wartime actions. It makes him an enigma of the war.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 24, 2009 at 8:24pm

Larry....not a lot know that Halsey was invloved with another typhoon in '45....in that storm Admiral John S McCain (yep...the senator's grandfather), on the orders/advice of Halsey put Task Force 38 on a course into the storm. McCain did not want to follow that course-- he had advised another to avoid the storm, but.....

No ships were lost, but a number were damaged including 4 carriers. Forrestal was prepared to relieve Halsey and McCain of their commands, but was convienced by Admiral King to not do so. Regardless, two months later McCain was ordered to relinquish his command effectively ending his career. He died the day after he returned home from the war.

Just as a point of interest, the senator's son is the fourth generation of McCains to attend the Naval Academy.

Comment by Larry Huffman on September 24, 2009 at 10:00am

I am currently reading a book called "Down To The Sea" by Bruce Henderson. It has been a very good read so far. It follows four destroyers through WWII: The Monaghan, Hull, Spence and Tabberer (The first 2 were pre-WWII class Farugut destroyers...the Spence was a new Fletcher class...and the Tabberer was a new Destroyer Escort, the same class as the Samuel B. Roberts). It begins with Peasrl Harbor and the actions of Monaghan and Hull. It traces their paths through the war as well as the building and commissioning of the newer ships. While I have not gotten to the climax of the tale yet...it culminates in the fact that these ships were all sunk during Halsey's typhoon...when Bull Halsey decided to ignore weather warnings and take his fleet through a terrible storm at sea. After having been through many encounters with the enemy, each of these ships having been awarded more than 10 battle stars a piece, in the end it was bad leadership and the weather that took them out. One of several actions that tends to dim Halsey's star a little and deny him the credit due so many of our Naval leaders in the war. A note on this book...On Amazon in the reviews section, there was a review that caught my attention. Only 4 men survived from the Hull when it went down...one of those men wrote a very good review for this book...stating that it was a very accurate and well done account of what happened. That was what prompted me to get the book. So far it has been good.

I wanted to mention something else...I don;t know about any of you...but ever since Ambrose wrote Band of Brothers, I have been utterly captivated by those men and their stories. Of course I read the book, then watched the HBO miniseries. But then, I found more and more of those men writing books. I must admit that I thought that this would just be the same story told over and over again. I was wrong. I have read Maj. Dick Winters book..."Biggest Brother"...which was terrific. I then read a book called "We Who Are Alive and Remain: Untold Stories from the Band of Brothers" in which the author rounds up a dozen or members of Easy company that were not ehavily involved in any of the other books or the miniseries...guys like Shify Powers and Carwood Lipton. It is a great book...it divides the story into chronological events (before the war...Pearl Harbor...Taccoa...Jump School...etc) and then under the heading it provides each of these guys views or stories from that time or event. Very well done and extremely interesting. I then got Sgt. Don Malarky's book "Easy Company Soldier"...fully expecting to finally be bored by the same story over and over. It never happened...the story was as fresh as if I had never heard it, because of the entirely different perspective. There are two more books that I know of...one is called "Call of Duty" by Buck Compton...and the other is a join effort by Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron called "Brothers in Battle, Best of Friends". I fully intend to get each of these and read them. If any of you enjoyed the story of Easy Company and admire them and enjoy reading about them as much as I do...do not neglect all of these other books. The really amazing thing is...each guy's story of the same story is fresh and full of new and interesting insight. I think the fact is...that entire sequence of events was so big...so profound...that there is no way any one person;s account can be complete. In each book I have learned new and interesting things about Easy Company and what they went through...and who they were. I just finished Sgt. Malarky's book and it was a very emotional and heartfelt story...he put his feelings right out on his sleeve...and it makes the story live.

I know this is a Naval History group...but the truth is, I am sure most of us like military history and not just Naval history. I am a WWII history junkie myself. I have an unexplained affection for those who fought that war.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 12, 2009 at 5:04pm

How it Was: 13 October 1775....

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 10, 2009 at 1:10pm

Susan J- I finished LUCKY LADY and reading about the feats of your uncle and the rest of the crew of the Franklin and Santa Fe. It is an amazing story and I advise all to read this volume and learn a little more about the heroic efforts of Lt. Gary that earned him the Medal of Honor. It is an inspiring story of those words that the Navy lives by: Honor, Courage, Commitment.

My current book (and suggestion for all to read) is NO HIGHER HONOR - Saving the USS Samuel B Roberts in the Persian Gulf by Bradley Peniston. In April 1988, the thrid ship to be named the Samuel B Roberts found itself in an Irian minefield while escorting tankers through the Persian Gulf. While trying to back out of the area (no simple task with one rudder and one 17-foot prop), it hit a mine and the book details the extraordinary efforts the crew perfomed to save the ship. It is a testament to training and damage control to save the ship. Highly recommended!

Comment by Larry Huffman on September 9, 2009 at 1:13pm

I maybe misled about the book "The Man Called Intrepid" a little. The book begins covering the period leading up to WWII...but covers the services during the war in great detail...including their efforts to steal and break the enigma code...the formation of resistence armies in occupied countries, etc. Not just baout the years leading up to the war.

Comment by Larry Huffman on September 9, 2009 at 1:06pm

Sounds like a very good read...I will pick it up. Those are exactly the kinds of naval history stories I like.

I am currently reading a great book...and though it is not specifically naval history...naval history is inextricably intertwined with the story. The book is called "The Man Called Intrepid" by William Stevenson. It is about the secret and covert war behind the scenes. It is primarily the story of one man;s vision and perseverance enabling the covert services to be developed prior to WWII even against popular opinion among allied nations. This man then influenced Churchill, Rossevelt and many others to take the courses they did. It is an amazong story that has already altered my view and corrected some of my notions of the time leading up to WWII.

I wil pick up Lucky Lady for my trip to PIR tomorrow. :-)

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