The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Fleet Admiral William (Bull) Halsey, Jr. USN - Apr. 19th, 2003

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq36-5.htm ^

[SAMWolf]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

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FReepers from the The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

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Fleet Admiral
William Frederick Halsey, Jr. USN

(1882-1959)

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William Frederick Halsey, Jr., was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on October 30, 1882, the son of the late Captain William F. Halsey, U. S. Navy. As a Navy junior, he made the usual round of schools prior to his appointment to the Naval Academy. President McKinley gave him an appointment in 1900.

While at the Naval Academy he distinguished himself in class committees and athletics, but not in scholarship. He was a member of the "Lucky Bag" yearbook staff, won his letter in football as a fullback and was president of the Athletic Association. As a First Classman, he had his name engraved on the Thompson Trophy Cup as the Midshipman who had done the most during the year for the promotion of athletics.

Upon graduation in February 1904, he was assigned to USS Missouri and later transferred to USS Don Juan de Austria in which he was commissioned an Ensign after having completed the two years at sea -- then required by law. In 1907, he joined USS Kansas and made the famous World Cruise of the Fleet in that battle ship.

For the next almost 25 years practically all his sea duty with the Fleet was in destroyers, starting in 1909 with command of USS DuPont (TB-7 commissioned in 1897), USS Lamson, USS Flusser and USS Jarvis. In 1915 he went ashore for two years of duty in the Executive Department at the Naval Academy.

During WWI he served in the Queenstown Destroyer Force in command of USS Benham and USS Shaw. From 1918 to 1921 he continued his destroyer service in command of USS Yarnell, USS Chauncey, USS John Francis Burnes and Destroyer Division Thirty-two. In October of 1920 he assumed command of USS Wickes and of Destroyer Division Fifteen. At that time a destroyer division commander also commanded the division flagship. Another shore cruise sent him to duty in the Office of Naval Intelligence, in Washington, -- which was his only duty assignment in that city. In October 1922, he was ordered as Naval Attache at the American Embassy in Berlin, Germany. One year later, he was given additional duty as Naval Attache at the American Embassies in Christiana, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Stockholm, Sweden.

On completion of that cruise he returned to sea duty, again in the destroyers in European waters, in command of USS Dale and USS Osborne. Upon his return to the U.S. in 1927, he served one year as Executive Officer of the battleship USS Wyoming -- and then for three years in command of USS Reina Mercedes, station ship at the Naval Academy. He continued his destroyer duty on his next two-years at cruise starting in 1930 as Commander Destroyer Division Three of the Scouting Force. In 1932 he went as a student to the Naval War College.



Then in 1934, he embarked on his aviation career when he reported to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola for flight training. He was designated a Naval Aviator on 15 May 1935, and went in command of the carrier USS Saratoga for two years, followed by one year in command of the Naval Air Station, Pensacola. In 1938, when he reached flag rank, he held successive commands of Carrier Division Two in USS Yorktown and Carrier Division One in Saratoga. In 1940, he became Commander Aircraft Battle Force with the rank of Vice Admiral. He was in USS Enterprise in that command when World War II broke out. In April 1942 he was designated Commander Task Force Sixteen, in Enterprise to escort the carrier USS Hornet to within 800 miles of Tokyo to launch the Army planes for the initial bombing of Japan.

In October l942 he was made Commander South Pacific Forces and South Pacific Area. With the rank of Admiral, and for the next 18 months he was in command of that area during the offensive operations of the U. S. Forces. In June 1944 he assumed command of the Third Fleet, and was designated Commander Western Pacific Task Forces. As such, he operated successfully against the Japanese in the Palaies, Philippines, Formosa, Okinawa and South China Sea. Subsequent to the Okinawa campaign in July 1945, his forces struck at Tokyo and the Japanese mainland. The last attack of his forces was on 13 August 1945. Admiral Halsey's flag was flying on USS Missouri on 2 September in Tokyo Bay when the formal Japanese surrender was signed onboard.

Immediately thereafter, 54 ships of the Third Fleet, with his four-star flag in USS South Dakota, returned to the United States for annual Navy Day Celebrations in San Francisco on 27 October 1945. He hauled down his flag in November of that year and was assigned special duty in the office of the Secretary of the Navy. On December 11, 1945, he took the oath as Fleet Admiral becoming the fourth and last officer to hold the rank.



Later, Fleet Admiral Halsey made a goodwill flying trip through Central and South America covering nearly 28,000 miles, and 11 nations. He was relieved of active duty in December 1946, and upon his own request transferred to the retired list on 1 March 1947. Upon retirement, he joined the board of two subsidiaries of the International Telephone and Telegraph Company and served until 1957. He was active in an unsuccessful effort to preserve the USS Enterprise as a national shrine, and was an elected Honorary Vice President of the Naval Historical Foundation.

He died on 16 August 1959 at Fishers Island Country Club.

PROMOTIONS

Graduated from Naval Academy - Class of 1904
Ensign - February 2, 1906
Lieutenant (junior grade) - February 2, 1909
Lieutenant - February 2, 1909
Lieutenant Commander - August 29, 1916
Commander - February 1, 1918
Captain - February 10, 1927
Rear Admiral - March 1, 1938
Vice Admiral - June 13, 1940
Admiral - November 18, 1942
Fleet Admiral - December 11, 1945

DECORATIONS AND AWARDS

Navy Cross
Distinguished Service Medal with three gold stars
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Presidential Unit Citation
Mexican Service Medal
Victory Medal, Destroyer Clasp
American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Philippine Liberation Medal

The guided missile frigate (later guided missile cruiser) USS Halsey (DLG-23, later CG-23), 1963-1994, was named in honor of Fleet Admiral Halsey.

[PhilDragoo]

Eines der letzten Fotos om McCain mit seiner Kommandeur "Bull" Halsey

[PhilDragoo]

[Jen]

May we never forget those who pay for our freedom with their blood and their very lives. Those pictures are powerful Sam. My heart aches for all those families and friends of the KIAs.

[Jen]

You add so much to the threads with your info and pix. Thanks Light Speed.

[Jen]

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter holiday.

[Jen]

Hey! It's not April 1st!! Surely, that's not a real warship.

[Jen]

Wonderful poem. I wish every idiot who protests our military's actions would read it.

[Jen]

Thanks for everything Phil. Great posts.

[SAMWolf]

AS if we needed more proof:

I just got this from a friend and found it enlightening to say the least.

Bert is a former Army officer who became an expert in military aviation and has authored literally dozens* of books, principally aimed at the aviation enthusiast and scale modeler, and that are definitely apolitical. However, with his research efforts on military subjects he has gained a wealth of contacts within the U.S. military, and is one of the premier authorities on military subjects in this country. Walt is a retired airline captain (Boeing 777's) and former Navy pilot. Please read what Bert has to say about CNN.

* If you don't believe the "dozens of books", check for his titles among the authors at just about any book seller. For example, Amazon.com currently lists him as author of ninety five available titles.
__________________________________________________________________


Subject: The Kinzey Report

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Hello, Everyone,

As many of you know, although some do not, I wrote a book about the Gulf War shortly after it ended in 1991. It was published by McGraw Hill, and was titled, "The Fury of Desert Storm, the Air Campaign." While that book's primary focus was on the air war, much of it also addressed the news coverage of the war. I pointed out how there were two big losers during that war; Iraq and the news media.

Both the news media and Iraq had many things in common, one of which was that they brought their problems on themselves. I explained how the news media, particularly CNN, inaccurately reported the war, misstating the facts, and in many cases deliberately telling outright lies. I dedicated an entire chapter to a dishonest CNN report about the B-1 bomber and evaluated its inaccuracies line by line. I illustrated that the report was full of lies, and these were about clearly established facts and not about someone's opinion. I spoke in person to the people in the Pentagon that CNN had been interviewed and filmed for that report, and they told me how CNN edited what they said to make it seem like they were saying exactly the opposite of what they actually said. I spoke with CNN's people here in Atlanta and at the Pentagon, including Wolf Blitzer, and he admitted he knew nothing about the military. A CNN employee in Atlanta admitted to me that they did not care if they got their reporting accurate. They only wanted to get it on the air first and in the most dramatic manner possible. Their primary purpose was to make money by selling ad space, not reporting the news. The story goes on and on.

Unfortunately, twelve years later, the situation has not improved at CNN. I have watched them as well as other news sources recently, and their lies and inaccuracies are even more common than they were in 1991. Their bias is also beyond belief. They are showing almost exclusively an anti-war stance by people who are so delusioned that they believe that peace is merely the absence of war. While everyone, including news organizations, have their own bias, it is neither professional nor honest to concentrate almost exclusively on one side of an issue, particularly one so important as this. To do so presents an inaccurate and dishonest view of what is actually happening, and this does not allow viewers to form informed and valid opinions.

For example, CNN concentrates almost exclusively on those few nations that are against us in this effort and makes almost no mention of the many more that are supporting us. They ignore and do not report on our success in Afghanistan where we have returned women to classrooms and professional occupations and where people are returning to that country with expectations for a bring future free of terror, all thanks to America. Before we drove out the Taliban, people were fleeing Afghanistan.

CNN also makes the viewer believe that those who protest the war are in far greater numbers than those who are supporting it. This is clearly not the case, and even CNN's own surveys show that 66% of Americans support military action to disarm Iraq. (ABC and FOX surveys place that percent in the upper
70s.) For example, this past Saturday, over 3,000 people turned out in Atlanta, the home of CNN, to support the war on a dreary and rainy day. At the same time, there was an anti-war rally in Atlanta that was attended by twenty-two, that's right TWENTY-TWO protesters. Anyone care to guess how CNN covered it? I recently heard the percentage of students that protested the war at universities across America, and in almost every case, it was less than one percent. That means that ninety-nine percent did not protest against the war, and in many cases the number gathering to support President Bush and our troops far exceed the number who protested against it. But who does CNN report? Clearly, all sides need to be presented in a balanced manner, and CNN skews their coverage extremely in one direction. In my view, their coverage with its inaccuracies, lies, distortions, and blame America first bias is nothing short of criminal.

CNN has seldom reported much about the continuing atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein throughout his time in power. Here is a man who has attacked his neighbor to the east and his neighbor to the southeast. Here is a man who has fired missiles at his neighbors to the southwest and the west. Hussein has gassed his own people and habitually tortures those that disagree with him. He has had the wives and children of dissidents brought in and tortured, raped, and killed those family members before their very eyes. Here is a man who would destroy oil wells and dams to create ecological disasters and kill the Iraqi people. On the other side of the coin are the Americans who will bring freedom from this oppression to the Iraqis, who will bring food and medicine to them, who will protect Iraq's infrastructure, and who will treat Iraqi prisoners who surrender in a humane way. But CNN makes America out to be the bad guy! How does that work?

If you are like me and believe that the freedom of the press carries with it an obligation to be accurate, fair, balanced, and honest, I ask you to do two things. First, please pass this e-mail on to everyone you know so that they may realize what CNN is doing. Second, I ask you to stop the lies, turn off CNN, and send them an e-mail that you are doing so. I ask you to look elsewhere for your news coverage. I find the FOX News Network, The News Hour on PBS, and MSNBC to be far more fair. Sure, there is some bias anywhere, but it is not so extreme nor calculated. On these networks I hear both sides about equally. I hear about France like I do on CNN, but I also hear about Japan and Australia as well as the many other countries that are backing us in so many ways. As of today, three countries in Europe are against us, and twenty-two have come out in support of us. Most of the twenty-two have never been mentioned on CNN, but representatives of France and Germany are on CNN almost hourly. So please take a look at several news choices and find one that is accurate, fair, and balanced. It is only that way that you will get an honest view of what is going on. I am not telling you which one to choose, I'm only asking you to turn off CNN.

It is not in my present plans to write another book for the general public on this war. But that may change. I am so sickened by the reporting of CNN that I may just do so. If I do, I will not focus on the air war this time. Instead I will simply state the facts that clearly prove that CNN is lying and distorting the news about our country, our leaders, and our military.

Finally, I would like to remind you to do a third thing. As most of you know, I have a son who is a Navy pilot and who has been flying missions in the Middle East since last November. So, as the father of one of our deployed military personnel, and as a former Army officer myself, I ask all of you to remember our troops, support them, and pray for them even more than you usually do in these critical days ahead. I know many of you also have family members or friends who are over there ready to do their jobs in support of our country. It is those troops who keep us free, and who are ready to lay down their lives to protect our country. It is not the movie stars nor the news reporters that have ever protected us.

For those of you who pass this on to your friends, I thank you for your help in spreading the word about CNN.

God bless America,

Bert Kinzey

[Light Speed]

Hello K.W.

In honor of your Father's service

The first Japanese Attack leaves USS Yorktown dead in the Water

Just before noon on 4 June, Admiral Fletcher launched ten Dauntless dive bombers from Yorktown to search for Hiryu. These aircraft had only just been launched when the approaching Japanese strike force from Hiryu was detected on Yorktown's radar. Wildcat fighters of Yorktown's combat air patrol were launched to defend their carrier. Although the defending American fighters were able to shoot down ten of the incoming Japanese dive bombers, eight breached the American fighter screen. Heavy anti-aircraft fire from Yorktown and her escorting warships downed another two Japanese bombers, but six penetrated the lethal fire-storm to launch their attack and Yorktown was struck by three bombs. One bomb exploded on impact with the flight deck, producing a large hole and killing or wounding many crewmen. Another bomb hit and penetrated the forward elevator, but caused no serious damage. However, the third bomb penetrated the flight deck and exploded deep within the carrier, putting most of the boilers out of action, and leaving the ship dead in the water. Only five Japanese dive bombers and three Zeros returned to Hiryu. Lieutenant Kobayashi was among those who failed to return.
Yorktown was now highly vulnerable to attack. The holes in her flight deck prevented launching and recovery of aircraft. Yorktown's aircraft returning from the attack on Soryu were either diverted to Enterprise or forced to ditch in the sea if they were running out of fuel. With his ship immobilised, Rear Admiral Fletcher was forced to move his flag to one of his escort cruisers USS Astoria. In a selfless and patriotic act, he also passed overall command of both American task forces to Rear Admiral Spruance, thereby ensuring that Spruance would get the major credit for a great victory.

Savo Island
Some hard luck at Savo Island,
2 of the U.S. screen destroyers with radar failed to pick up the Japanese warships.
Japanese Cruisers and Destroyers carrried the "Long Lance" torpedo...with a near 10,000 yard range...a leathal double punch accompanied by gunfire.

USS Astoria was bracketed by 2 Japanese heavy cruisers...the first volleys missed.
Yet Astoria recieved an inujurous wound on the first salvo which hit her...causing her number # 1 turret to go up,with a huge fire which illuminated poor Astoria in the darkness.
Astoria was severaly damaged recieving some 70 hits...still she was abe to engage 2 Japanese cruisers...clobbering the Japanese flagship Chokai.
Astoria was able to steer away..however internal fires were not containable.

Astorias crew fought the internal fires and rescued as many as possible...at noon the Captain Greenman gave the order to abandon ship.
268 men gave their lives from Astoria at Savo...

They were the "A" team of the U.S. Navy in 42.

[SAMWolf]

Evening PhilDragoo.

Thanks for covering both Halsey and Lexington/Concord in your posts today.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Happy Easter to you too, Jen!!!

[fatima]

Hi AntiJen,Happy and Blessed Easter,.

[Victoria Delsoul]

It is not in my present plans to write another book for the general public on this war. But that may change. I am so sickened by the reporting of CNN that I may just do so. If I do, I will not focus on the air war this time. Instead I will simply state the facts that clearly prove that CNN is lying and distorting the news about our country, our leaders, and our military.

I agree completely. Thanks for posting this, Sam. I'm in and out, but right now I'm watching the arrival of the POW's. God bless them.

[Light Speed]

Hiya Jen...

[Jen]

For example, this past Saturday, over 3,000 people turned out in Atlanta, the home of CNN, to support the war on a dreary and rainy day. At the same time, there was an anti-war rally in Atlanta that was attended by twenty-two, that's right TWENTY-TWO protesters. Anyone care to guess how CNN covered it?

3,000??? More like about 25,000 according to articles I saw! And right across the street from CNN. Grrrrrrr, I hate CNN!

[Jen]

Ooooooooooooooooh! Thanks for my Falcon Fix! hahahaha

(Would be prettier if it had "HL" as its fin flash...)

[Jen]

Happy Easter to you too Fatima!! Nice to see you tonight.

[Jen]

That's very nice what you did for KeyWest.

[SAMWolf]

I can see the big smile speading across her face about now.