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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... America”was playedto windup the ceremony. At0915 commenced receiving stores, ammunition and equipment from the yard. A threepounder boat gun hasbeenmounted ontheafter deckhouseandtwo 30caliber Lewisguns forward, thus completing our ...
... America”was playedto windup the ceremony. At0915 commenced receiving stores, ammunition and equipment from the yard. A threepounder boat gun hasbeenmounted ontheafter deckhouseandtwo 30caliber Lewisguns forward, thus completing our ...
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... American troopslandedin Iceland, amove which prompted Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, Navy War Plans director, to ask the President if this did not seem to conflict with his October andDecember speeches of the previous year ...
... American troopslandedin Iceland, amove which prompted Rear Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner, Navy War Plans director, to ask the President if this did not seem to conflict with his October andDecember speeches of the previous year ...
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... American men of war; this was no longer a case of diplomatic curiosity; coordinate grid is the classical method of pinpoint target designation; ourbattleshipshad become“targets.” 3 To fullyassessthe above, one must go backa ...
... American men of war; this was no longer a case of diplomatic curiosity; coordinate grid is the classical method of pinpoint target designation; ourbattleshipshad become“targets.” 3 To fullyassessthe above, one must go backa ...
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... Americans weredoing or planning. What Hartand Kimmelalso never were told was that as of threeweeks later, “Kirk” (Director ofONI)would be innoposition to carry outhisaforesaid “responsibilities.” On 14 April 1941, War Plans director ...
... Americans weredoing or planning. What Hartand Kimmelalso never were told was that as of threeweeks later, “Kirk” (Director ofONI)would be innoposition to carry outhisaforesaid “responsibilities.” On 14 April 1941, War Plans director ...
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... American attitude toward it. Startingonthefirst, the rising crescendoin SIS and its Navy equivalent, OP20G, was equalled bythat in Station“H.” There,Commander Rochefort's crew struggled with the 1 December unexpected changeof Japanese ...
... American attitude toward it. Startingonthefirst, the rising crescendoin SIS and its Navy equivalent, OP20G, was equalled bythat in Station“H.” There,Commander Rochefort's crew struggled with the 1 December unexpected changeof Japanese ...
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