LOL.
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Yes the Japanese totally snookered Halsey during the Philippines battles and it almost led to disaster leaving our landing forces unprotected.
He was saved by a few Destroyer Escorts and jeep carriers who fought so hard the Japanes were fooled into thinking they were up against a main force and withdrew before what would have been a major victory for them.
I agree completely. He did NOT cover himself with glory there. That was a real, honest mistake.
How a man with the nickname “Bull” could get taken in so easily by a red cape is still amazing to consider.
And then, to get caught up in that typhoon the way he did is still astonishing to me. That was a mess.
Halsey too, was far from perfect. But early on in the war, when things hung in the balance, he shined.
It is almost as if he simply didn’t know how to fight with an overwhelming advantage, as if he were more effective and comfortable in a barroom brawl.
Heh, maybe he was.
“He was saved by a few Destroyer Escorts and jeep carriers who fought so hard the Japanes were fooled into thinking they were up against a main force and withdrew before what would have been a major victory for them.”
That’s the ‘Battle off Samar’ as told in Hornfischer’s
‘The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy’s Finest Hour’
CDR Ernest Evans was awarded the Medal of Honor for his role in this battle. I liked the way that Hornfischer compared Evan’s fearless style of battle with that of his Cherokee ancestors.