Cruise of the Lanikai: Incitement to WarIn early December 1941 in the Philippines, a young Navy ensign named Kemp Tolley was given his first ship command, an old 76-foot schooner that had once served as a movie prop in John Ford's "The Hurricane." Crewed mostly by Filipinos who did not speak English and armed with a cannon that had last seen service in the Spanish-American War, the Lanikai was under top-secret presidential orders to sail south into waters where the Japanese fleet was thought to be. Ostensibly the crew was to spy on Japanese naval movements, but to Tolley it was clear that their mission was to create an incident that would provoke war. Events overtook the plan, however, when Pearl Harbor was bombed before the Lanikaicould get underway. When Bataan and Corregidor fell, she was ordered to set sail for Australia and became one of the few U.S. naval vessels to escape the Philippines. In this book Tolley tells the saga of her great adventure during these grim, early days of the war and makes history come alive as he regales the reader with details of the operation and an explanation of President Roosevelt's order. Tolley's description of their escape in Japanese warship-infested waters ranks with the best of sea tales, and few will be able to forget the Lanikai's 4,000-mile, three-month odyssey. |
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... and Lanikai, unscathed through so many perils, in order that you might bear witness to the Truth. Excerpt from a letter written by Justice Frederic R. Sanborn to the author. Foreword The United States Asiatic Fleet before World War II.
... and Lanikai, unscathed through so many perils, in order that you might bear witness to the Truth. Excerpt from a letter written by Justice Frederic R. Sanborn to the author. Foreword The United States Asiatic Fleet before World War II.
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Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. Foreword. The United States Asiatic Fleet before World War II was essentially a political instrument designed to “show the flag.” In no way a fighting fleet, it included the heavy cruiser Houston, the light ...
Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. Foreword. The United States Asiatic Fleet before World War II was essentially a political instrument designed to “show the flag.” In no way a fighting fleet, it included the heavy cruiser Houston, the light ...
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... Asiatic Fleet, ona hectic Christmas Eve,* 1941. That evening in the coderoom, as the Admiral was poringover messages describing the generally disastrous eventsof the day, Adair suggestedthat he, with some other officers, radiomen and ...
... Asiatic Fleet, ona hectic Christmas Eve,* 1941. That evening in the coderoom, as the Admiral was poringover messages describing the generally disastrous eventsof the day, Adair suggestedthat he, with some other officers, radiomen and ...
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... Asiatic Fleet, this vessel got underway at Chapter 2 My own arrival in Manila, early in December. 1940,* out ofMariveles Harbor, Luzon,destination unknown. * Subtractone dayfromall Philippine andLanikai cruise dates toarriveatPearl ...
... Asiatic Fleet, this vessel got underway at Chapter 2 My own arrival in Manila, early in December. 1940,* out ofMariveles Harbor, Luzon,destination unknown. * Subtractone dayfromall Philippine andLanikai cruise dates toarriveatPearl ...
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... Tolley. The National Archives Admiral Thomas C. Hart, Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet. Lanikai under way, her boxy superstructure cutting down her speed. “Guns” Picking works on his “main battery,” the 3pounder SpanishAmerican.
... Tolley. The National Archives Admiral Thomas C. Hart, Commander in Chief, Asiatic Fleet. Lanikai under way, her boxy superstructure cutting down her speed. “Guns” Picking works on his “main battery,” the 3pounder SpanishAmerican.
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