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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... hadbeen the magnificent additionto our lowlevel armament—Tanager's gift.It very soonwas mountedon a pedestal that had been purloined fromthe ammunition depot walltwo weeksearlier. “Now letthose slanteyed bastards come in low,” said a ...
... hadbeen the magnificent additionto our lowlevel armament—Tanager's gift.It very soonwas mountedon a pedestal that had been purloined fromthe ammunition depot walltwo weeksearlier. “Now letthose slanteyed bastards come in low,” said a ...
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... had been underrepairatCavite, Pillsbury and Peary), Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 and its six wicked, superfast little craft ... hadbeen a roughday everywhere fortheFar East Allies.But for Lanikai and her people itbroughta Christmas gift ...
... had been underrepairatCavite, Pillsbury and Peary), Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 and its six wicked, superfast little craft ... hadbeen a roughday everywhere fortheFar East Allies.But for Lanikai and her people itbroughta Christmas gift ...
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... had been assigned tothegunboatWake, in the Yangtze Patrol, and as U.S. forces pulled out of China, theWakehadbeenleft, witha few ship keepers, at Shanghai. Two other river gunboats, theOahuandLuzon,had literally sneaked out of Shanghai ...
... had been assigned tothegunboatWake, in the Yangtze Patrol, and as U.S. forces pulled out of China, theWakehadbeenleft, witha few ship keepers, at Shanghai. Two other river gunboats, theOahuandLuzon,had literally sneaked out of Shanghai ...
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... hadbeen first and, other than myself, was the only Americanaboard atthe ceremony. Beingtold off to hoist thecommission pennant and havinggot itproudly inplace, he turned with interest to view themany hundreds of yard workmen ashore ...
... hadbeen first and, other than myself, was the only Americanaboard atthe ceremony. Beingtold off to hoist thecommission pennant and havinggot itproudly inplace, he turned with interest to view themany hundreds of yard workmen ashore ...
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... had been in sail before, his state of shock precluded any reply. I was left to comfort myself with the thought that more than a decade had passed since I had sailed anything, and that was merely a catboat on the Severn at Annapolis ...
... had been in sail before, his state of shock precluded any reply. I was left to comfort myself with the thought that more than a decade had passed since I had sailed anything, and that was merely a catboat on the Severn at Annapolis ...
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Common terms and phrases
aboard Adair Admiral Hart aircraft Allied alongside American anchor andthe Army arrived ashore Asiatic Fleet attack atthe Australia Bali Bandoeng boat bombers bombs British bythe Captain Cavite coast Corregidor crew crewmen cruisers December deck deckhouse defense destroyers Dutch East enemy engine Filipino fish forces Fremantle fromthe Geraldton Glassford gunboat guns hadbeen Hart’s headed heavy Helfrich Houston inthe Island itwas Japan Japanese Java Kimmel Lanikai later LCDR Lieutenant Commander Luzon MacArthur Manila Mariveles miles Naval Operations Navy’s night Oahu officer ofthe onthe Pacific patrol Pearl Harbor Pecos Philippines planes President President’s radio Rear Admiral Rockwell Roosevelt sail ship ship’s Singapore skipper soon Stark submarine Surabaya thatthe theJapanese Therewas Tjilatjap tobe Tolley torpedo tothe U.S. Naval U.S. Navy United USS Lanikai vessel Walruff warship wasa Washington wasnot witha withthe wouldbe wrote Yangtze Yangtze Patrol Yard