10/30/1882 William Halsey was born

He was rash and impetuous, making decisions based on his gut feeling and his hatred of all things Japanese. But he took the war to the enemy, harder, faster, farther and more furiously than any other commander of his day.
There are those who still think Bull Halsey should have been court-martialed for his decisions in 1944 instead of being given his 5th star a year later. And they make good arguments to support their opinion.
But there are few who don't still love the guy in spite of all the controversy.
He was America's favorite fightin' admiral in his day. Maybe he still is.
Give a thought to him today.

"There are no extraordinary men... just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with."
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A good man IMO.

From your post: "There are no extraordinary men... just extraordinary circumstances that ordinary men are forced to deal with."

I too second guess some of his decisions......but who am I to criticize??????????? To the quote consider "men" to be a generic notation meaning homo sapiens of both sexes!

To all of us, think back over your lifespan at the decisions you had to make in times of crisis and or just to keep life going for you and your family. How do you feel about doing those same tasks today? Ever think that what may scare you to death today (to have to do) you just took in stride because you had your head down, your shoulder to the strap and you did what had to be done!

After reading this, I now understand why my Dad would NEVER allow a Japanese vehicle in our driveway. He never spoke of his experiences in Leyte; only that he regretted being on shore leave when Pearl Harbor was attacked. His ship, USS Pennsylvania, was in drydock at the time of the attack; he lost several friends. I still have his I.D. card that states 'Duration', as he joined the Navy in the 1930's. Oklahoma was in Dust Bowl at the time. I saddens me to see so many young people buying Hondas and Toyotas because they are cheaper or better'. My 68 Mustang is still running after being used as a pick-up truck and I have NEVER considered an oriental vehicle. YMMV

Halsey's problem was that he didn't realize the war had changed for the US, that and his ego. Halsey was ideally suited for early in the war when boldness and audacity was needed, such as the Doolittle Raid and the Naval Battles in November at Guadalcanal. But when the US had overwhelming Naval superiority in the Marianas and the Philippines, with the only vulnerability being to the landing forces, Halsey never understood the caution of protecting those forces were paramount. He tried to refight Midway at Leyte and almost met disaster for the landing forces. And then left the sailors of Taffy 3 in the water for days after they had sacrifices themselves to cover for his blunder.

I just watched a documentary the other day that knocked Halsey pretty bad. I got to thinking.

It's easy to knock him after you see the results of his actions in the battle of Leyte Gulf. But.......

1. US intel on Japanese strength was non existent throughout the entire war. Kinda hard to get agents in and out of Japan at the time.

2. Air power, both naval and land based had completely changed the face or warfare in a very few short years. The biggest naval threat throughout the war to that date was air attack in the Pacific.

3. Being the man on the scene at the time. It's easy to arm chair any officer or combat operation. Being the man, there on the spot, making decisions based on intel and threat can and often does look very different that what it will look like after the fact.

In the case mentioned take notice that most if not all text involving Leyte Gulf someplace toward the front of it always mentions what the Japanese true strength was. Information available to the reader that wasn't available to ANYONE in the US military while the battle was going on and certainly not Halsey. We read/see that the carriers that Jap sent out had few aircraft of any type. That it was a ruse. Halsey had no way of knowing that. We read that after initial contact the northern Japanese force withdrew, then turned around to renew the attack. Halsey had know way of knowing that. So we come down to Halsey leaving his station to go after the carrier fleet. Go take a look at all standard naval orders of the day. They read something like "you are to screen the invasion force" and so on, then add in that if the opportunity arises where you can without screwing up the first part "destroy the enemy" at every opportunity.

So IMO the only thing Halsey did wrong was a judgement call. He thought the northern attack was in retreat, a surface force, and the real threat was the carriers. Given the intel available to him at the time? Really a reasonable call.

Rick

It will always be far easier to look back at the mistakes made in one's past. As they say.................hindsight is perfect 20/20 vision. We are fortunate to have had the military leaders in the armed forces during World War II. You cannot have all be like Halsey, or Patton, or McArthur. Likewise, you cannot have all be like Eisenhower, or Spruance, or Nimitz. The blend of personalities and experience together and creating an environment of differing opinions will tend to cause an organization to have greater and better outcomes, rather than an organization where all are the same, which creates an environment of "groupthink," where everyone agrees. That condition creates a prime environment for catastrophic consequences from poor decisions and decision making. One can always look back and point out faults and mistakes, but when one is entrenched into a specific situation under less than ideal conditions, you have to take the information you have and make decisions, and not all are going to be the right decisions. A little luck along the way and our own faith go a long way, too.

When looking at WW2 history, it is incredibly difficult for our 21st-century minds to grasp with any accuracy just how LITTLE people knew in 1940. And therefore just how much guesswork and gut instinct had to be used to make EVERY decision.

For example, in reading the classic Thunder Below, the recounting of the USS Barb's submarine exploits in WW2, Capt Plucky recalls that they were using charts to navigate the East Asia seas that were produced by a Norwegian survey conducted in the late 1800s! To say the accuracy was variable was an understatement in the extreme.

Today, I can pick any GPS point in the South China Sea and get a depth that is accurate to inches and even instantly compensate that depth for any tide past or future!

IMO Halsey's bluster makes him look a lot more of a bull than he actually was. Remembering that he had to make hundreds of decisions every week based on gut instinct whereas today we would know the answers in absolute terms to things he could only guess at in the 1940's world he lived in.

I'm in awe of how these brave men did what they did to the level that they did it at given the tools at their disposal.

Grouse

He was a very good man as all others for what they did under the circumstances at the time.Good to remember so not forgotten.Scott

O/T One for yesterday

http://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2017/10/100th-anniversary-of-the-great-cavalry-charge-australias-4th-light-horse-brigade-in-the-taking-of-be.html

Think about it a little. Both houses received intel provided by the CIA and other sources and agree with then POTUS Bush and allowed him to order the invasion of Iraq. Both sides voted for it! On faulty intel. Faulty intel is just as bad as no intel. It still happens even in todays world.

Rick

just read a big story about the Pennsylvania's fight from drydock at Pearl on the 'net yesterday. Great read. Would've put it up here if I knew how.

Points you make herein are case for thought.

When I went into industry I was my own man. I made my career out of nothing. I could not have done that with current philosophy "group thinking". However, group thinking brings in diversity. Diversity is needed for numerous reasons but it stifles individual creativity. Gotta "bend with the wind". I find both have their places.

As a CIC, you have to take the inputs of your advisors (diversity), add your past experiences and education (individuality), and make the decision. That's your responsibility, right or wrong......"The buck stops here"...Harry Truman.