[rlmorel]

One of the things they found out early on in the war was that they had to get rid of the old guys. There were a lot of command officers in the South Pacific both ashore and at sea in all branches who simply could not stand up to the stress of command at war. I recall reading that when this became an evident trend, they began to move all of the graybeards out of direct combat commands.

Nimitz was 60 when the war ended, and he was the exception, as were a few others. Heck, Halsey began to make some serious mistakes as the war was coming to its conclusion, with his bad judgment at the Battle of Leyte Gulf, compounded by Typhoon Cobra shortly thereafter, and then again when he made poor decisions regarding Typhoon Connie in June 1945 and got more men killed and damaged ships, including the USS Portland which lost her bow.

IIRC, Admiral King was livid and wanted Halsey relieved of command and courtmartialed, and Nimitz was pretty upset too, but they realized Halsey was still a hero to many, and Admiral John "Slew" McCain (John McCain's grandfather) voluntarily fell on his sword and graciously took the punishment for Halsey. Admiral McCain stayed in the Pacific long enough to attend the surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri, then flew home the next day. I think he hadn't been home once since the war began.

They had a welcome home party for him the night he got home, and he suffered a massive heart attack and died. Wow. He was only 61, but in the picture below, he looked about 80.

He lived hard, swore hard, smoked hard, and drank hard, as many of those men did.

By all accounts, his men adored him.

They called him "Popeye" due to his weathered looks and his beat up, nasty hat with the scrambled eggs that had turned green with age and corrosion. It was his "lucky hat", and it was said that one time when it blew off his head on the flight deck, a crewman nearly went over the side trying to retrieve it, they loved him that much. (That hat now resides at the Phi Delta Theta (his college fraternity) Museum in Oxford, OH.)

Halsey (who was a bit of a prissy "bathroom dawdler" and neat-nick) was repulsed by the disgusting hat and said it was the most disreputable hat he had ever seen any Naval Officer wear, but he was never able to get McCain to toss it!

It was also said that Halsey, who was a clean freak, got so irritated with 'Slew" McCain walking around the bridge of his ship spewing cigarette ashes to and fro from the long gray tube of ashes he just let stay there on the end of the cigarette until gravity made it fall without the aid of an ashtray to land in) that he detailed a sailor to follow him around the bridge and sweep up after him!

He is someone I would have liked to have met.

Oddly, I served for a few months under CDR John McCain when he was released from the Hanoi Hilton and they gave him a training command (VA-174 Razorbacks out of Cecil Field, FL) but it was clear even then he wasn't his grandfather or even his father, who by all accounts, was a solid leader.

Note: It may sound like I don't admire Admiral Halsey-but I absolutely do. I just think his age and the stress of command caught up with him in late 1944.

[Pilsner]

George Marshall put an age limit on generals serving overseas in WW2. Nobody over that age left the US without a specific waiver by Marshall. Obviously both Patton and Roosevelt got one.

MacArthur was allowed to employ some older guys, but very few went to Europe. A Major General whose name escapes me was told just before his division left that he was not going with it. He appealed to Marshall saying “I missed WW1 because I was teaching at West Point. Don’t make me miss this one too.”

Marshall’s reply was a stark “No.”

So the officer said: “My wartime rank is Major General, but my permanent rank is Colonel. Can I serve in Europe as a Colonel?” Marshall agreed to that, and the Major General took off his stars, pinned his eagle back on, and went to war.

[Pilsner]

Shortly before WW2 the U.S. Navy adopted a regulation that the eagles on officers caps had to face the officer’s right shoulder. Spruance had just purchased an expensive gold braid cap with a left facing eagle, and simply refused to replace it. McCain’s eagle also faced his left shoulder, and although it certainly needed replacing, he likewise refused to buy a new cap.

[Sequoyah101]

Of course you have watched, “The Gallant Hours” and know what Cagney did to get it made?

There is one scene that particularly moved me. It is when his son was lost.

A young Dennis Weaver also did a good job in the movie.

[lepton]

He does look ancient.

Thanks for the post.

[packrat35]

Heard the same thing about a lot of submarine officers getting replaced also. The older ones were too cautious and they wanted go getters.