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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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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... in the Far East not a ship rode at anchor. The seven greatpierswereempty,with the exception of a few lighters, tugs, the ancient submarine tenderUSSCanopus,anda few small craft. One of the latter, a white, 83foot, twomasted schooner flying ...
... in the Far East not a ship rode at anchor. The seven greatpierswereempty,with the exception of a few lighters, tugs, the ancient submarine tenderUSSCanopus,anda few small craft. One of the latter, a white, 83foot, twomasted schooner flying ...
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Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. That same forenoon I had gone ashore to headquarters for some sort of guidance out of the limbo into which Lanikai, my command of less than three weeks, had fallen. My arrival coincided precisely with that of ...
Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. That same forenoon I had gone ashore to headquarters for some sort of guidance out of the limbo into which Lanikai, my command of less than three weeks, had fallen. My arrival coincided precisely with that of ...
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Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. freezers”—evening dress mess jackets—for the Christmas Eve parties ashore. Dice boxes passed around the table, ivory cubes clattering on the dark mahogany in final reckoning on which unlucky fellow picked up ...
Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. freezers”—evening dress mess jackets—for the Christmas Eve parties ashore. Dice boxes passed around the table, ivory cubes clattering on the dark mahogany in final reckoning on which unlucky fellow picked up ...
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Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. Navy. With the situation deteriorating at alarming speed, they must be destroyed ... in the suburbs playing tennis. However, Rock's persuasive powers prevailed on the others. “There are enough petroleum ...
Incitement to War Kemp Tolley. Navy. With the situation deteriorating at alarming speed, they must be destroyed ... in the suburbs playing tennis. However, Rock's persuasive powers prevailed on the others. “There are enough petroleum ...
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