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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... Japanese. At the Marsman Building, “Champ” had found only Commander Dennison and the flag secretary, Lieutenant Commander A. S. McDill,taking care ofthe lastofthe filesandpreparing to smashtheradio equipment. If any oilwastobe burned,he ...
... Japanese. At the Marsman Building, “Champ” had found only Commander Dennison and the flag secretary, Lieutenant Commander A. S. McDill,taking care ofthe lastofthe filesandpreparing to smashtheradio equipment. If any oilwastobe burned,he ...
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... Japanese were not much more than a fiveinch gun shot astern. I had been assigned tothegunboatWake, in the Yangtze ... Japanese warcraft with guns trained ominouslyin their direction. Japaneseplanes zoomed overhead at almost masthead ...
... Japanese were not much more than a fiveinch gun shot astern. I had been assigned tothegunboatWake, in the Yangtze ... Japanese warcraft with guns trained ominouslyin their direction. Japaneseplanes zoomed overhead at almost masthead ...
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... Japanese bombers damaged the Yangtze River gunboat USS Tutuila $27,045.78 worth.Admiral Shimada, CinCof Japan's China Seas Fleet,said, “Very sorry!” Admiral Hartwas so incensed hewrote Stark hehad almostsenthim a plain language message ...
... Japanese bombers damaged the Yangtze River gunboat USS Tutuila $27,045.78 worth.Admiral Shimada, CinCof Japan's China Seas Fleet,said, “Very sorry!” Admiral Hartwas so incensed hewrote Stark hehad almostsenthim a plain language message ...
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... Japanese interests and intentions. Tokyo's request to be informed when two Pearl Harbor ships were one outboard of the other at the same dock could point only to consideration of the use of torpedoes, obviously from the air, as it was ...
... Japanese interests and intentions. Tokyo's request to be informed when two Pearl Harbor ships were one outboard of the other at the same dock could point only to consideration of the use of torpedoes, obviously from the air, as it was ...
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... Japanese restaurants, wasatthe same time taking airplane flights over Pearl Harbor, swimming near its entrance, observing ... Japan studying the language and people, felt thebomb plot messageto be sufficiently important to merita special ...
... Japanese restaurants, wasatthe same time taking airplane flights over Pearl Harbor, swimming near its entrance, observing ... Japan studying the language and people, felt thebomb plot messageto be sufficiently important to merita special ...
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