Halsey's Typhoon

I witnessed what had to be the worst self-inflicted tragedy of World War II, if not of all time, during the typhoon that occurred during Admiral Halsey's command.

General MacArthur had sent troops up from Australia to make a landing on the Philippine Islands. The Pacific Fleet--dominated by Admiral Spruance and a few others--was given to Admiral Halsey who had not had experience in that particular area but had demonstrated his ability in the Solomon Islands. He was sent to defend MacArthur's army in the Philippines. At that time, a freak storm, now infamously known as Halsey's Typhoon hit the Pacific. Halsey contrived his command as such by sailing the fleet directly into the typhoon without hesitation.

As the typhoon hit, the captain of our ship, the USS Alabama stood on the bridge with the other officers and discussed what a grave error this decision looked like it could become. I had no battle station, so went up four flights and found a secure place on the deck from which to view the scene of the destroyers battle the storm. I could see the destroyers sail valiantly into the storm but it was clear that they were no match for the 50-foot high waves. My heart pounded as I saw my fellow sailors were engulfed by monstrous waves. I watched helplessly and in horror as three destroyers went down and 800 men were drowned.

After the tragedy, there was some talk of court martialing Halsey but he defended his decision by claiming that he had been under orders from MacArthur to defend the landing.

The book:

http://www.amazon.com/Halseys-Typhoon-Fighting-Admiral-Untold/dp/0871139480

A little fun during our time in the Pacific

When I graduated from Penn, I was called in to the Navy Supply Corp. where I was sent to Harvard for training. At graduation, they listed the openings for the class and I was the only one to chose sea duty as I figured that it would be safer to be on a battleship than to wait and possibly be sent to a destroyer.

I was sent to the USS Alabama in the Pacific. First, I went to Norfolk for further orders and was sent on to San Francisco where I boarded a supply ship. For 40 days, the supply ship sailed to the South Pacific without an escort. There were 200 enlisted men and 10 officers on board, of which I was one. When we arrived, I was sent up to Efate Island to join the USS Alabama.

For the next two years, I was on the Alabama in the Pacific. First the ship bombarded the islands to guard the landing for the U.S. troops in the Philippines. Then we engaged in a number of campaigns protecting MacArthur’s efforts to catch up to the Japanese fleet that were sailing in the Pacific. We never did catch them and never got even close.

Our ship would go out with the fleet and we would come back to the small islands to rest up. A fellow who had trained with me at Harvard had become a supply officer on a destroyer. I communicated with him to have dinner with me on the USS Alabama. On that particular night, some of the officers had invited nurses. My buddy arrived from the destroyer and there was an orchestra playing and a big, sumptuous dinner. He could hardly believe it!

After a year of activity on the USS Alabama, we got orders to get to Bremerton Navy Yard for overhaul by way of Hawaii. I was ordered to go back to the U.S. and be an instructor at Harvard Business School Navy Supply Corp. One of my fellow instructors was John Whitehead who later became the president of Goldman Sachs. Today at Haverford College they built a Whitehead School of Student Activities in his name.