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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... was not overly warm, but Nina was perspiring so freely that herlight dress showed largedark spots atthe armpits. Whatnext? I thought.As ifbytelepathic command, themain actgot under way.Ina sort of singlefile passinreview, what must have ...
... was not overly warm, but Nina was perspiring so freely that herlight dress showed largedark spots atthe armpits. Whatnext? I thought.As ifbytelepathic command, themain actgot under way.Ina sort of singlefile passinreview, what must have ...
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... was not a patch on theone sparked by Lanikai's lying alongside dock thebusy afternoon of 24December 1941. As per ... wasno reversegear. The procedure was: stopthe engine,shift the timing gear, then restart the engine inthe reverse ...
... was not a patch on theone sparked by Lanikai's lying alongside dock thebusy afternoon of 24December 1941. As per ... wasno reversegear. The procedure was: stopthe engine,shift the timing gear, then restart the engine inthe reverse ...
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... was not much larger thanseveral motor launches that swung attheboat booms. An interested group of Canopus bluejackets lounged overthetaffrail and looked down at Lanikai.“Go tosea in that thing? You guys must be nuts!” The jibing was ...
... was not much larger thanseveral motor launches that swung attheboat booms. An interested group of Canopus bluejackets lounged overthetaffrail and looked down at Lanikai.“Go tosea in that thing? You guys must be nuts!” The jibing was ...
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... wasnot impressed; nine months earlier he was importuning Stark to get cracking on allocating funds, therelatively piddling sumof $96,000, for Navystoragetunnels on Corregidor. “I am as positive asI haveeverbeen of anything,” he wrote ...
... wasnot impressed; nine months earlier he was importuning Stark to get cracking on allocating funds, therelatively piddling sumof $96,000, for Navystoragetunnels on Corregidor. “I am as positive asI haveeverbeen of anything,” he wrote ...
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... wasnot vital.” On 24September, four days before that somewhat lessthancooperative meeting of minds, aslight, exceedingly clever 29yearold Japanese ensign, Takeo Yoshikawa, attached subrosa to the Japanese consulate general in Honolulu ...
... wasnot vital.” On 24September, four days before that somewhat lessthancooperative meeting of minds, aslight, exceedingly clever 29yearold Japanese ensign, Takeo Yoshikawa, attached subrosa to the Japanese consulate general in Honolulu ...
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