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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... aboard ship, another air raid accompaniedmyal fresco lunch atop the after deckhouse. According to Lanikai's journal, whichservedin lieu ofalog: At 1320air alarmsounded. Explosions heard toeastward. At 1530gotunderway, on verbal ...
... aboard ship, another air raid accompaniedmyal fresco lunch atop the after deckhouse. According to Lanikai's journal, whichservedin lieu ofalog: At 1320air alarmsounded. Explosions heard toeastward. At 1530gotunderway, on verbal ...
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... aboard, Lanikai stoodout for Mariveles. Captain KennethE. Lowman,fleet medical officer, wason board,his projected hospital intheJai Alai Palace adead dream.The Navy ShorePatrol officer for Manila was there, too. Those happy days of ...
... aboard, Lanikai stoodout for Mariveles. Captain KennethE. Lowman,fleet medical officer, wason board,his projected hospital intheJai Alai Palace adead dream.The Navy ShorePatrol officer for Manila was there, too. Those happy days of ...
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... aboard. At 5:30 P.M., we tied up at “the Rock,” where Keith immediately took off to join Adair in assailing Admiral Rockwell for permission tosail south. Forty minutes later, outof breath, they were back at the pier, permission granted ...
... aboard. At 5:30 P.M., we tied up at “the Rock,” where Keith immediately took off to join Adair in assailing Admiral Rockwell for permission tosail south. Forty minutes later, outof breath, they were back at the pier, permission granted ...
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... aboard Oahu. Since their launching at Shanghai in 1927 they had faced the hazards of the Yangtze's floods and roaring rapidsand the capricious actions of bandittroops along the river's banks. For thelast fouryears they had watched the ...
... aboard Oahu. Since their launching at Shanghai in 1927 they had faced the hazards of the Yangtze's floods and roaring rapidsand the capricious actions of bandittroops along the river's banks. For thelast fouryears they had watched the ...
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... aboard. He walked forward and squinted at the ship's nameplate, then called down to Picking,who already was checking out his “main battery.” “I've got orders to the Lanikai,” said Kinsey inathick Georgia drawl, “but this cain't be it ...
... aboard. He walked forward and squinted at the ship's nameplate, then called down to Picking,who already was checking out his “main battery.” “I've got orders to the Lanikai,” said Kinsey inathick Georgia drawl, “but this cain't be it ...
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