William Halsey Jr.
William Halsey Jr. | |
---|---|
Birth name | William Frederick Halsey Jr. |
Nickname(s) |
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Born | Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. | October 30, 1882
Died | August 16, 1959 Fishers Island, New York, U.S. | (aged 76)
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1904–1959[note 1] |
Rank | Fleet admiral |
Commands held | |
Battles/wars |
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Awards |
William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Halsey graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1904. He served in the Great White Fleet and, during World War I, commanded the destroyer USS Shaw. He took command of the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga in 1935 after completing a course in naval aviation, and was promoted to the rank of rear admiral in 1938. At the start of the War in the Pacific (1941–1945), Halsey commanded the task force centered on the carrier USS Enterprise in a series of raids against Japanese-held targets.
Halsey was made commander of the
Early years
Halsey was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on October 30, 1882, the son of Anna Masters (Brewster) and United States Navy Captain William F. Halsey
Halsey was of
After waiting two years to receive an appointment to the
Following graduation he spent his early service years in battleships, and sailed with the main battle fleet aboard the battleship USS Kansas as Roosevelt's Great White Fleet circumnavigated the globe from 1907 to 1909. Halsey was on the bridge of the battleship USS Missouri on Wednesday, April 13, 1904, when a flareback from the port gun in her aft turret ignited a powder charge and set off two others. No explosion occurred, but the rapid burning of the powder burnt and suffocated to death 31 officers and enlisted sailors. This resulted in Halsey dreading the 13th of every month, especially when it fell on a Wednesday.[10]
After his service on Missouri, Halsey served aboard torpedo boats, beginning with
Interwar years
In October 1922, he was the
In 1934, the chief of the
World War II
Traditional naval doctrine envisioned naval combat fought between opposing battleship gun lines. This view was challenged when Army Air Corps Colonel Billy Mitchell demonstrated the capability of aircraft to substantially damage and sink even the most heavily armored naval vessel. In the interwar debate that followed, some saw the carrier as defensive in nature, providing air cover to protect the battle group from shore-based aircraft. Carrier-based aircraft were lighter in design and had not been shown to be as lethal. The adage "Capital ships cannot withstand land-based air power" was well known.[14] Aviation proponents, however, imagined bringing the fight to the enemy with the use of air power.[15] Halsey was a firm believer in the aircraft carrier as the primary naval offensive weapon system. When he testified at Admiral Husband Kimmel's hearing after the Pearl Harbor debacle he summed up American carrier tactics being to "get to the other fellow with everything you have as fast as you can and to dump it on him." Halsey testified he would never hesitate to use the carrier as an offensive weapon.
In April 1940, Halsey's ships, as part of Battle Fleet, moved to Hawaii and in June 1940, he was promoted to vice admiral (temporary rank), and was appointed commander Carrier Division 2 and commander Aircraft Battle Force.[16]
With tensions high and war imminent, U.S. Naval intelligence indicated Wake Island would be the target of a Japanese surprise attack. In response, on 28 November 1941 Admiral Kimmel ordered Halsey to take USS Enterprise to ferry aircraft to Wake Island to reinforce the Marines there. Kimmel had given Halsey "a free hand" to attack and destroy any Japanese military forces encountered.[16] The planes flew off her deck on December 2. Highly anxious of being spotted and then jumped by the Japanese carrier force, Halsey gave orders to "sink any shipping sighted, shoot down any plane encountered." His operations officer protested, "Goddammit, Admiral, you can't start a private war of your own! Who's going to take the responsibility?" Halsey replied, "I'll take it! If anything gets in my way, we'll shoot first and argue afterwards."[17]
A storm delayed Enterprise on her return voyage to Hawaii. Instead of returning on December 6 as planned, she was still 200 miles (320 km) out at sea, when she received word that the surprise attack anticipated was not at Wake Island, but at
Early Pacific carrier raids
Halsey and Enterprise slipped back into Pearl Harbor on the evening of December 8. Surveying the wreckage of the Pacific Fleet, he remarked, "Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell."
Halsey returned to Pearl Harbor from his last raid on May 26, 1942, in poor health due to the extremely serious and stressful conditions at hand. He had spent nearly all of the previous six months on the bridge of the carrier Enterprise, directing the Navy's counterstrikes. Psoriasis covered a great deal of his body and caused unbearable itching, making it nearly impossible for him to sleep. Gaunt and having lost 20 pounds (9.1 kg), he was medically ordered to the hospital in Hawaii and was successfully treated.
Meanwhile, U.S. Naval intelligence had strongly ascertained that the Japanese were planning an
Halsey's skin condition was so serious that he was sent on the light cruiser USS Detroit to San Francisco, where he was met by a leading allergist for specialized treatment. The skin condition soon receded but Halsey was ordered to stand down for the next six weeks and relax. While detached stateside during his convalescence, he visited family and traveled to Washington D.C. In late August, he accepted a speaking engagement at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. Prior to the discussion of his raids against the Japanese positions in the Marshall Islands, Halsey informed the midshipmen before him, "Missing the Battle of Midway has been the greatest disappointment of my career, but I am going back to the Pacific where I intend personally to have a crack at those yellow-bellied sons of bitches and their carriers," which was received with loud applause.[24]
At the completion of his convalescence in September 1942, Admiral Nimitz reassigned Halsey to Commander, Air Force, Pacific Fleet.
Commander, South Pacific Area
After being medically approved to return to duty, Halsey was named to command a carrier task force in the
During this critical juncture, naval support was tenuous due to Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley's reticence, malaise and lackluster performance.[16] Pacific Fleet commander Chester Nimitz had concluded that Ghormley had become dispirited and exhausted.[25][26][27] Nimitz made his decision to change the South Pacific Area commander while Halsey was en route. As Halsey's aircraft came to rest in Nouméa, a whaleboat came alongside carrying Ghormley's flag lieutenant. Meeting him before he could board the flagship, the lieutenant handed over a sealed envelope containing a message from Nimitz: "You will take command of the South Pacific Area and South Pacific forces immediately."[2]
The order came as an awkward surprise to Halsey. Ghormley was a long time personal friend, and had been since their days as teammates on the football team back at Annapolis. Awkward or not, the two men carried out their directives. Halsey's command now included all ground, sea, and air forces in the South Pacific area. News of the change flashed and produced an immediate boost to morale with the beleaguered Marines, energizing his command. He was widely considered the U.S. Navy's most aggressive admiral, and with good reason. He set about assessing the situation to determine what actions were needed. Ghormley had been unsure of his command's ability to maintain the Marine toehold on Guadalcanal, and had been mindful of leaving them trapped there for a repeat of the Bataan Peninsula disaster. Halsey punctiliously made it clear he did not plan to withdraw the Marines. He not only intended to counter the Japanese efforts to dislodge them, he intended to secure the island. Above all else, he wanted to regain the initiative and take the fight to the Japanese. It was two days after Halsey had taken command in October 1942 that he gave an order that all naval officers in the South Pacific would dispense with wearing neckties with their tropical uniforms. As Richard Frank commented in his account of the Battle for Guadalcanal:
Halsey said he gave this order to conform to Army practice and for comfort. To his command it viscerally evoked the image of a brawler stripping for action and symbolized a casting off of effete elegance no more appropriate to the tropics than to war.[28]
Halsey led the South Pacific command through what was for the U.S. Navy the most tenuous phase of the war. Halsey committed his limited naval forces through a series of naval battles around Guadalcanal, including the carrier engagements of the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands and the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. These engagements checked the Japanese advance and drained their naval forces of carrier aircraft and pilots.
For his conduct, "can-do" leadership style, and increasing number of forces under his command, Halsey was promoted to four-star admiral in October 1942. The promotion put Halsey into sustained public spotlight for the first time, appearing on the cover of Time magazine's November 1942 issue[29] which quoted Halsey from his superior Nimitz as "professionally competent and militarily aggressive without being recklessly foolhardy" and that his promotion by the President was something "he richly deserves". Halsey's four-star insignia were welded together from two-star rear admiral's insignia; his vice admiral's stars were sent to the widows of Rear Admirals Daniel J. Callaghan and Norman Scott, both of whom had been killed in action.[30][31]
In November, Halsey's willingness to place at risk his command's two fast battleships in the confined waters around Guadalcanal for a night engagement paid off, with the U.S. Navy winning the battle. The last naval engagement of the Guadalcanal campaign was decisive, dooming the Japanese garrison and enabling U.S. forces to finally wrest control of the island from the Japanese.
Japanese naval aviation proved to be formidable during the Solomon campaign.[32] In April 1943, Halsey assigned Rear Admiral Marc Mitscher to become Commander Air, Solomon Islands, where he directed a mixed bag of army, navy, marine and New Zealand aircraft in the airwar over Guadalcanal and up the Solomons chain. Said Halsey: "I knew we'd probably catch hell from the Japs in the air. That's why I sent Pete Mitscher up there. Pete was a fighting fool and I knew it."[33]
Typical for the period was an exchange that occurred between Halsey and one of his staff officers in June 1943. The South Pacific Area was expecting the arrival of an additional air group to support their next offensive. As a part of the long view of winning the war taken by Nimitz, upon its arrival at Fiji the group was given new orders to return stateside and be broken up, its pilots to be used as instructors for pilot training. Halsey's headquarters had been counting on the air group for their operations up the Solomons chain. The staff officer who brought the dispatch to Halsey remarked "If they do that to us we will have to go on the defensive." The admiral turned to the speaker and replied: "As long as I have one plane and one pilot, I will stay on the offensive."[34]
Halsey's forces spent the rest of the year battling up the Solomon Islands chain to Bougainville. At Bougainville the Japanese had two airfields in the southern tip of the island, and another at the northernmost peninsula, with a fourth on Buki just across the northern passage. Here, instead of landing near the Japanese airfields and taking them away against the bulk of the Japanese defenders, Halsey landed his invasion force of 14,000 Marines in Empress Augusta Bay, about halfway up the west coast of Bougainville. There he had the Seabees clear and build their own airfield. Two days after the landing, a large cruiser force was sent down from Japan to Rabaul in preparation for a night engagement against Halsey's screening force and supply ships in Empress Augusta Bay. The Japanese had been conserving their naval forces over the past year, but now committed a force of seven heavy cruisers, along with one light cruiser and four destroyers. At Rabaul the force refueled in preparation for the coming night battle. Halsey had no surface forces anywhere near equivalent strength to oppose them. Battleships Washington, South Dakota, and assorted cruisers had been transferred to the Central Pacific to support the upcoming invasion of Tarawa. Other than the destroyer screen, the only force Halsey had available were the carrier air groups on Saratoga and Princeton.
Rabaul was a heavily fortified port, with five airfields and extensive anti-aircraft batteries. Other than the surprise raid at Pearl Harbor, no mission against such a target had ever been accomplished with carrier aircraft. It was highly dangerous to the aircrews, and to the carriers as well. With the landing in the balance, Halsey sent his two carriers to steam north through the night to get into range of Rabaul, then launch a daybreak raid on the base. Aircraft from recently captured Vella Lavella were sent over to provide a combat air patrol over the carriers. All available aircraft from the two carriers were committed to the raid itself. The mission was a stunning success, so damaging the cruiser force at Rabaul as to make them no longer a threat. Aircraft losses in the raid were light. Halsey later described the threat to the landings as "the most desperate emergency that confronted me in my entire term as ComSoPac."[35]
Following the successful Bougainville operation, he then isolated and neutralized the Japanese naval stronghold at Rabaul by capturing surrounding positions in the Bismarck Archipelago in a series of amphibious landings known as Operation Cartwheel. This enabled the continuation of the drive north without the heavy fighting that would have been necessary to capture the base itself. With the neutralization of Rabaul, major operations in the South Pacific Area came to a close. With his determination and grit, Halsey had bolstered his command's resolve and seized the initiative from the Japanese until ships, aircraft and crews produced and trained in the States could arrive in 1943 and 1944 to tip the scales of the war in favor of the allies.[36]
Battles of the Central Pacific
By this point in the conflict the U.S. Navy was doing things the Japanese high command had not thought possible. The
, and their ability to convoy supplies out to the combat task forces, allowed the fleet to operate for extended periods of time far out to sea in the central and western Pacific. The Japanese Navy conserved itself in port and would sortie in force to engage the enemy. The U.S. Navy remained at sea and on station, dominating whatever region it entered. The size of the Pacific Ocean, which Japanese planners had thought would limit the U.S. Navy's ability to operate in the western Pacific, would not be adequate to protect Japan.Command of the "big blue fleet" was alternated with
Leyte Gulf
In October 1944, amphibious forces of the U.S.
In response to the invasion, the Japanese launched their final major naval effort, an operation known as 'Sho-Go', involving almost all their surviving fleet. It was aimed at destroying the invasion shipping in Leyte Gulf. The Northern Force of Admiral Jisaburō Ozawa was built around the remaining Japanese aircraft carriers, now weakened by the heavy loss of trained pilots. The Northern Force was meant to lure the covering U.S. forces away from the Gulf while two surface battle-groups, the Center Force and the Southern Force, were to break through to the beachhead and attack the invasion shipping. These forces were built around the remaining strength of the Japanese Navy, and comprised a total of 7 battleships and 16 cruisers. The operation brought about the Battle for Leyte Gulf, the largest naval battle of the Second World War and, by some criteria, the largest naval battle in history.
The Center Force commanded by Vice Admiral
Battle off Samar
In moving Third Fleet northwards, Halsey failed to advise Admiral Thomas Kinkaid of Seventh Fleet of his decision. Seventh Fleet intercepts of organizational messages from Halsey to his own task group commanders seemed to indicate that Halsey had formed a task force and detached it to protect the San Bernardino Strait, but this was not the case. Kinkaid and his staff failed to confirm this with Halsey, and neither had confirmed this with Nimitz.
Despite aerial reconnaissance reports on the night of October 24–25 of Kurita's Center Force in the San Bernardino Strait, Halsey continued to take Third Fleet northwards, away from Leyte Gulf.
When Kurita's Center Force emerged from the San Bernardino Strait on the morning of October 25, there was nothing to oppose them except a small force of escort carriers and screening destroyers and destroyer escorts, Task Unit 77.4.3 "Taffy 3", which had been tasked and armed to attack troops on land and guard against submarines, not oppose the largest enemy surface fleet since the battle of Midway, led by the largest battleship in the world. Advancing down the coast of the island of Samar towards the troop transports and support ships of the Leyte Gulf landing, they took Seventh Fleet's escort carriers and their screening ships entirely by surprise.
In the desperate Battle off Samar which followed, Kurita's ships destroyed one of the escort carriers and three ships of the carriers' screen, and damaged a number of other ships as well. The remarkable resistance of the screening ships of Taffy 3 against Kurita's battle-group remains one of the most heroic feats in the history of the U.S. Navy. Their efforts and those of the several hundred aircraft that the escort carriers could put up, many of whom, however could not be armed with the most effective ordnance to deal with heavy surface ships in time, took a heavy toll on Kurita's ships and convinced him that he was facing a stronger force than was the case. Mistaking the escort carriers for Halsey's fleet carriers, and fearing entrapment from the six battleships of the Third Fleet battleship group, he decided to withdraw back through the San Bernardino Strait and to the west without achieving his objective of disrupting the Leyte landing.
When the Seventh Fleet's escort carriers found themselves under attack from the Center Force, Halsey began to receive a succession of desperate calls from Kinkaid asking for immediate assistance off Samar. For over two hours Halsey turned a deaf ear to these calls. Then, shortly after 10:00 hours,[40] a message was received from Admiral Nimitz: "Where is repeat where is Task Force 34? The world wonders". The tail end of this message, The world wonders, was intended as padding designed to confuse enemy decoders, but was mistakenly left in the message when it was handed to Halsey. The urgent inquiry had seemingly become a stinging rebuke. The fiery Halsey threw his hat on the deck of the bridge and began cursing.[40] Finally Halsey's Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral Robert "Mick" Carney, confronted him, telling Halsey "Stop it! What the hell's the matter with you? Pull yourself together."[17]
Halsey cooled but continued to steam Third Fleet northward to close on Ozawa's Northern Force for a full hour after receiving the signal from Nimitz.[40] Then, Halsey ordered Task Force 34 south. As Task Force 34 proceeded south they were further delayed when the battle force had to slow to 12 knots so that the battleships could refuel their escorting destroyers. The refueling cost a two and a half-hour further delay.[40] By the time Task Force 34 arrived at the scene it was too late to assist the Seventh Fleet's escort carrier groups. Kurita had already decided to retire and had left the area. A single straggling destroyer was caught by Halsey's advance cruisers and destroyers, but the rest of Kurita's force was able to escape.
Meanwhile, the major part of Third Fleet continued to close on Ozawa's Northern Force, which included one fleet carrier (the last surviving Japanese carrier of the six that had attacked Pearl Harbor) and three light carriers. The
The same attributes that made Halsey an invaluable leader in the desperate early months of the war, his desire to bring the fight to the enemy, his willingness to take on a gamble, worked against him in the later stages of the war. Halsey received much criticism for his decisions during the battle, with naval historian Samuel Morison terming the Third Fleet run to the north "Halsey's Blunder".[41] However, the destruction of the Japanese carriers had been an important goal up to that point, and the Leyte landings were still successful despite Halsey falling for the Japanese Navy's decoy.
Halsey's Typhoon
After the Leyte Gulf engagement, December found the Third Fleet confronted with another powerful enemy in the form of Typhoon Cobra, which was dubbed "Halsey's Typhoon" by many.
While conducting operations off the Philippines, the fleet had to discontinue refueling due to a Pacific storm. Rather than move Third Fleet away, Halsey chose to remain on station for another day. In fairness, he received conflicting information from Pearl Harbor and his own staff. The Hawaiian weathermen predicted a northerly path for the storm, which would have cleared Task Force 38 by some two hundred miles (320 km). Eventually his own staff provided a prediction regarding the direction of the storm that was far closer to the mark with a westerly direction.[42]
However, Halsey played the odds, declining to cancel planned operations and requiring the ships of Third Fleet to hold formation. On the evening of December 17 Third Fleet was unable to land its combat air patrol due to the pitching and rolling decks of the carriers. All the aircraft were ditched in the ocean and lost, but the pilots were all saved by accompanying destroyers. By 10:00 a.m. the next morning the barometer on the flagship was noted to be dropping precipitously. With increasingly heavy seas the fleet still attempted to maintain stations. The threat was greatest to the fleet's destroyers, which did not have the fuel reserves of the larger ships and were running dangerously low. Finally, at 11:49 am, Halsey issued the order for the ships of the fleet to take the most comfortable course available to them. Many of the smaller ships had already been forced to do so.
Between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 pm, the typhoon did its worst damage, tossing the ships in 70-foot (21 m) waves. The barometer continued to drop and the wind roared at 83 knots (154 km/h) with gusts well over 100 knots (185 km/h). At 1:45 pm. Halsey issued a typhoon warning to Fleet Weather Central. By this time Third Fleet had lost three of its destroyers. By the time the storm had cleared the next day a great many ships in the fleet had been damaged, three destroyers were sunk, 146 aircraft were destroyed and 802 seamen had been lost. For the next three days Third Fleet conducted search and rescue operations, finally retiring to Ulithi on 22 December 1944.
Following the typhoon a Navy court of inquiry was convened on board USS Cascade in the Naval Base Ulithi. Admiral Nimitz, CINCPAC, was in attendance at the court, Vice Admiral John H. Hoover presided over the Court, with admirals George D. Murray and Glenn B. Davis as associate judges. Forty-three-year-old Captain Herbert K. Gates, of Cascade, was the Judge Advocate.[43] The inquiry found that though Halsey had committed an error of judgement in sailing the Third Fleet into the heart of the typhoon, it stopped short of unambiguously recommending sanction.[44] The events surrounding Typhoon Cobra were similar to those the Japanese navy had faced some nine years earlier in what they termed "The Fourth Fleet Incident."[45]
End of the war
During January 1945 the Third Fleet attacked Formosa and Luzon, and
Spruance held command of Fifth Fleet until May, when command returned to Halsey. In early June 1945 the Third Fleet again sailed through the path of a typhoon,
Halsey led Third Fleet through the final stages of the war, striking targets on the Japanese homeland itself. Third Fleet aircraft conducted attacks upon Tokyo, the
After the cessation of hostilities, Halsey, still aggressively cautious of Japanese kamikaze attacks, ordered Third Fleet to maintain a protective air cover with the following communiqué:
Cessation of hostilities.
War is over.
If any Japanese airplanes appear, shoot them down in a friendly way.[49]
He was present when Japan formally surrendered on the deck of his flagship, USS Missouri, on September 2, 1945.
Postwar years
Immediately after the surrender of Japan, 54 ships of the Third Fleet returned to the United States, with Halsey's four-star flag flying from USS South Dakota, for the annual Navy Day Celebrations in San Francisco on October 27, 1945. He hauled down his flag on November 22, 1945, and was assigned special duty in the
Halsey was asked about the weapons used to win the war and he answered:
If I had to give credit to the instruments and machines that won us the war in the Pacific, I would rate them in this order: submarines first, radar second, planes third, bulldozers fourth.[51]
Halsey joined the New Jersey Society of the
Personal life
While at the University of Virginia he met Frances Cooke Grandy (1887–1968) of Norfolk, Virginia, whom Halsey called "Fan." After his return from the Great White Fleet's circumnavigation of the globe and upon his promotion to the rank of full lieutenant he was able to persuade her to marry him.[52] They married on December 1, 1909, at Christ Church in Norfolk. Among the ushers were Halsey's friends Thomas C. Hart and Husband E. Kimmel. Fan developed manic depression in the late 1930s and eventually had to live apart from Halsey.[53] The couple had two children, Margaret Bradford (October 10, 1910 – December 15, 1979) and William Frederick Halsey III (September 8, 1915 – September 23, 2003).[54][55] Halsey is also the great-uncle of actor Charles Oliver Hand, known professionally as Brett Halsey, who chose his stage name as a reference to him.[56]
Death
While vacationing on Fishers Island, New York, Halsey died of a heart attack at age 76 on August 16, 1959.[12][57][58] After lying in state in the Washington National Cathedral, he was interred on August 20, near his parents in Arlington National Cemetery.[59] His wife, Frances Grandy Halsey, is buried with him.
Asked about his contribution in the Pacific and the role he played in defending the United States, Halsey said merely:
There are no great men, just great challenges which ordinary men, out of necessity, are forced by circumstances to meet.[60]
Dates of rank
- United States Naval Academy Midshipman—Class of 1904
Ensign | Lieutenant, junior grade
|
Lieutenant | Lieutenant commander | Commander | Captain |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
O-1 | O-2 | O-3 | O-4 | O-5 | O-6 |
February 2, 1906 | February 2, 1909 | February 2, 1909 | August 29, 1916 | February 1, 1918 | February 10, 1927 |
Commodore | Rear admiral | Vice admiral | Admiral | Fleet admiral |
---|---|---|---|---|
O-7 | O-8 | O-9 | O-10 | Special Grade |
Never held | March 1, 1938 | June 13, 1940 | November 18, 1942 | December 11, 1945 |
Halsey never held the rank of lieutenant (junior grade), as he was appointed a full lieutenant after three years of service as an ensign. For administrative reasons, Halsey's naval record states he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant (junior grade) and lieutenant on the same day.[16]
At the time of Halsey's promotion to rear admiral, both rear admirals lower half (O-7) and rear admirals upper half (O-8) wore two stars. This was the case until 1942. During World War II and up until 1950, the Navy used the one star commodore rank for certain staff specialties.
Awards and decorations
Naval Aviator insignia
| |
Navy Cross | |
gold stars in lieu of fourth award
| |
Army Distinguished Service Medal | |
Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star in lieu of second award | |
Mexican Service Medal | |
World War I Victory Medal with Destroyer clasp | |
American Defense Service Medal with Fleet clasp | |
American Campaign Medal | |
battle stars
| |
World War II Victory Medal | |
National Defense Service Medal |
Foreign awards
Argentina – Order of May of Naval Merit, Grand Cross (March 1, 1947) | |
Brazil – Order of the Southern Cross, Grand Cross[citation needed] | |
Chile – Grand Cross of Order of Merit of Chile | |
Grand Cross of Boyaca
| |
Orden Vasco Núñez de Balboa , Grand Cross
| |
Guatemala made him a Supreme Chief in the Order of the Quetzal. | |
Ecuador – Order of Abdon Calderón, 1st Class | |
United Kingdom – Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE)
| |
Chile – Al Merito, First Class, Insignia and Diploma | |
Cuba – Order of Naval Merit | |
Greece – Order of the Redeemer | |
Peru – Order of Ayacucho | |
Venezuela – Order of the Liberator | |
Philippine Presidential Unit Citation
| |
Philippines – Philippine Liberation Medal with two stars |
Honors
- Halsey Field, NAS North Island in Coronado, California, dedicated October 20, 1960, celebrating 50 years of Naval Aviation (1911–1961).[62]
- Halsey Society, student Naval ROTC organization at Texas A&M University[63]
Buildings
- Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. Leadership Academy & William F. Halsey House, Elizabeth High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey[64]
- Halsey Field House, United States Naval Academy
- Halsey Gym, the main physical fitness center at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Ayase, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
- Halsey Hall, University of Virginia
- Halsey Terrace, U.S. Navy housing in Honolulu, Hawaii[65]
- Halsey Hall, Jonathan Dayton High School
- USS Halsey (BEQ-439), a Junior Enlisted Barracks for students going through initial training in Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois
- W. F. Halsey Elementary School, RAF Edzell, Scotland, UK. DOD school closed in 1997 when the base closed.
Ships
- USS Halsey (CG-23), a Leahy-class guided-missile cruiser
- USS Halsey (DDG-97), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer
Streets
- Commodore Drive, Lynfield, New Zealand[66]
- William F. Halsey Avenue, Bakersfield, California
- Halsey Street, Chula Vista, California
- Halsey Boulevard, Foster City, California
- Halsey Street, San Leandro, California
- Halsey Avenue, Yuba City, California
- Halsey Street, East Hartford, Connecticut
- Halsey Road, Dover, Delaware
- Admiral Halsey Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida[67]
- Halsey Roadd, Jacksonville, Florida
- Halsey Road, Milton, Florida
- Halsey Street, Pensacola, Florida
- Halsey Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
- Halsey Street, Colonel Bud Day Field, Sioux City, Iowa
- Halsey Street, Alexandria, Louisiana
- Halsey Road, Annapolis, Maryland
- Halsey Place, Baltimore, Maryland
- Halsey Street, Kensington, Maryland[68]
- Halsey Way, Natick, Massachusetts
- Admiral Halsey Road, Plymouth, Massachusetts
- Halsey Street, St. Louis, Missouri
- Admiral Halsey Drive, NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Admiral Halsey Service Area, a north-bound rest area along the New Jersey Turnpike at mile marker 111 on Interstate 95, at the present New Jersey Route 81 interchange, in Elizabeth, New Jersey[69]
- Halsey Court, Princeton, New Jersey
- Halsey Street, Princeton, New Jersey
- Halsey Road, Toms River, New Jersey
- Halsey Drive, Riverside, Ohio
- Halsey Court, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Halsey Avenue, Middletown, Rhode Island
- Halsey Street, Newport, Rhode Island
- Halsey Drive, Warwick, Rhode Island
- Halsey Drive, Flower Mound, Texas
- Halsey Drive, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
- South Halsey Drive, Whidbey Island, Washington
- Halsey Street, Eau Claire, Wisconsin
- Admiral Halsey Slope (Côte Amiral Halsey), Nouméa, New Caledonia
- Halsey Drive, Lynfield, New Zealand (Halsey visited New Zealand in 1908, however the drive may be named for British Admiral Lionel Halsey)[70]
In popular culture
- Halsey was portrayed by bio-pic, The Gallant Hours; by James Whitmore in the 1970 film, Tora! Tora! Tora!; by Robert Mitchum in the 1976 film, Midway, and by Dennis Quaid in the 2019 film Midway.
- Halsey makes a brief appearance in Herman Wouk's novel The Winds of War, and has a more substantial supporting role in the sequel War and Remembrance. Wouk was extremely critical of Halsey's handling of the battle at Leyte Gulf, but also said he was too great a builder of naval morale to be retired in disgrace. (Chapter 92) Halsey was portrayed in the 1983 television miniseries adaptation of The Winds of War by Richard X. Slattery, and in the 1988 miniseries adaptation of War and Remembrance by Pat Hingle.
- Halsey has been portrayed in a number of other films and TV miniseries, played by Battle Stations, 1956), John Maxwell, (The Eternal Sea, 1955) and Morris Ankrum (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, 1944).
- An "Admiral Halsey" is mentioned in the Paul and Linda McCartney song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey". The chorus of "hands across the water, heads across the sky" was a reference to the American aid programs of World War II. McCartney later specified that the second half of the song was indeed in honor of William Halsey.[71]
- On March 4, 1951, Halsey appeared as a mystery guest on episode No. 40 of the game show, What's My Line, where the panel correctly deduced his identity.[72]
- In the television series, McHale's Navy, one of Captain Binghamton's catchphrases whenever he would get frustrated with one of McHale's schemes was, "What in the name of Halsey is going on here?"
- Halsey is mentioned in the 1990 film Jack Ryanwhat books he wrote for the CIA. Ryan mentions one about Admiral Halsey, entitled The Fighting Sailor (not to be confused with a real book of the same title); Ramius reveals his awareness of the book and expresses disdain for Ryan's assessment of Halsey, saying, "Your conclusions were all wrong, Ryan. Halsey acted stupidly."
- A character in Seth MacFarlane's The Orville is named Admiral Halsey, presumably after Admiral Halsey.
- In The Bridge on the River Kwai, William Holden's character, feigning madness as his excuse for impersonating an officer, says, "I'm getting worse, you know. Sometimes I think I'm Admiral Halsey."
- A former service area on the New Jersey Turnpike was named for Admiral William Halsey located by what is now Exit 13A in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Upon creation of the exit in 1982, this caused the obscuring of the service area as they both overlapped with each other, before the service area itself closed in 1994.
See also
- List of Fleet and Grand Admirals
- List of United States military leaders by rank
- List of military figures by nickname
- Gene Markey
Notes
- ^ U.S. officers holding five-star rank never retire; they draw full active duty pay for life.[1]
- ^ The "Big Blue Fleet" was the name given to the main fleet of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific. The term stems from pre-war planning, called the color plans because each nation included was given a color code name. In these potential plans the British navy was red, the German navy black, and so forth. The Imperial Japanese Navy was termed the "Orange Fleet". The U.S. fleet was the "Blue Fleet". The "Big Blue Fleet" was the massive fleet that the U.S. Navy anticipated they would win the war with. It was thought this fleet would largely come into being by late 1943, early 1944.[3][34]
References
Citations
- ISBN 978-1-85109-961-0.
- ^ a b Morison 1958, p. 183.
- ^ a b c Potter 1985, p. 112.
- ^ Wukovits 2010, pp. 1–2.
- ^ Hughes 2016, p. 16.
- ^ Berger, Meyer (November 8, 1945). "Home Town Roars Salute to Halsey; The Commander of the Third Fleet Returns to His Hometown in New Jersey". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
- ^ Johnson, Bill (February 15, 1965). "Seven Society's Secret Still Secret". Washington Post. p. C8.
- ^ Wukovits 2010, p. 9.
- ^ Lucky Bag. Nimitz Library U. S. Naval Academy. First Class, United States Naval Academy. 1904.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ Borneman 2012, p. 47.
- ^ Wukovits 2010, p. 17.
- ^ a b c NHHC Halsey 2019.
- ^ Borneman 2012, p. 157.
- ^ Morison 1948, p. 190.
- ^ Wildenberg 2005. Wildenberg quotes Browning's thesis: "Every carrier we have knows what it means to be 'bopped' with all planes on deck, because her hands were tied by uncertainty as to her next move..."
- ^ a b c d e Wukovits 2010.
- ^ a b "Books: The General and the Admiral". Time. November 10, 1947. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013.
- ^ Millis 1947, p. 357.
- ^ Halsey & Bryan 1947, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Potter 1985.
- ^ Potter 1976, p. 85.
- ^ Potter 1976, p. 84.
- ^ Potter 1976, p. 86.
- ^ Potter 1985, p. 150.
- ^ Morison 1958, pp. 199–207.
- ^ Frank 1990, pp. 368–378.
- ^ Dull 1978, pp. 235–237.
- ^ Frank 1990, pp. 335–336.
- ^ "Admiral William Halsey". Time. November 30, 1942. cover. Retrieved March 1, 2021.[dead link]
- ^ Borneman 2012, p. 640.
- ^ Halsey & Bryan 1947, p. 132.
- Microsoft Games Studios. Archived from the originalon February 9, 2006. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
- ^ Taylor 1991, p. 145.
- ^ a b Potter 1985, p. 221.
- ^ Potter 2005, pp. 98–99.
- ^ Parshall & Tully 2005, pp. 416–430.
- ^ Cutler 1994, p. 209.
- ^ Tuohy 2007, p. 323.
- ^ Hone 2013, p. 71.
- ^ a b c d Willmott 2005, pp. 192–197.
- ^ Potter 1985, pp. 376–380.
- ^ Tillman, Barrett (July 2007). "William Bull Halsey: Legendary World War II Admiral". historynet.com. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- ^ Drury & Clavin 2007, p. 270.
- ^ Drury & Clavin 2007, pp. 15, 272; Melton 2007, p. 244.
- ^ Drury & Clavin 2007, p. 15; Evans & Peattie 1997, p. 243.
- ^ Willmott 1984, pp. 178–181.
- ^ Utica Daily Press, February 20, 1945.
- ^ Melton 2007, p. 270.
- ^ Tolley 1983, p. 245.
- ^ Buell 1974, pp. 435–436.
- ^ Halsey & Bryan 1947, p. 69.
- ^ Borneman 2012, pp. 73–74.
- ^ Borneman 2012, pp. 344.
- ^ Borneman 2012, pp. 74, 90.
- ^ "William F. Halsey III, 88". Obituaries. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
- ^ Weaver, Tom. "Brett Halsey Interview", Eye on Science Fiction: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers, McFarland, 2007.
- ^ "Adm. Halsey dies at Fishers Island". The Day. (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. August 17, 1959. p. 1.
- ^ "Following Advance for Use Sunday, Aug. 16". KXNet.com North Dakota News.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "'Bull' Halsey is buried". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. August 21, 1959. p. 2.
- ISBN 978-0-553-11133-0.
- ^ "William Frederick Halsey, Jr". Military Times Hall of Valor. Archived from the original on September 2, 2012.
- ^ Sudsbury, Elretta (1967). Jackrabbits to Jets: The History of North Island, San Diego, California. Neyenesch Printers, Inc.
- ^ "Halsey Society".
- ^ "Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. Leadership Academy". Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ "Halsey Terrace".
- Wikidata Q116775081.
- ^ Alynia Rule. "Special Projects – The Florida Quest (Places, Names and Road Trip Games) – NIE WORLD". Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ History of Rock Creek Woods. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ^ "Admiral Halsey Service Area". i95exitguide.com. Archived from the original on August 14, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
- ^ Pishief, Elizabeth; Shirley, Brendan (August 2015). "Waikōwhai Coast Heritage Study" (PDF). Auckland Council. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ISBN 0-87833-304-5.
- ^ "Episode No. 40 Summary". TV.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2008.
Sources
- Borneman, Walter R. (2012). The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy and King – The Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-09784-0.
- Buell, Thomas B. (1974). The Quiet Warrior, A Biography of Raymond A. Spruance. Little, Brown. ISBN 0-87021-562-0.
- Cutler, Thomas (1994). The Battle of Leyte Gulf: 23–26 October 1944. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-243-9.
- Drury, Robert; Clavin, Tom (2007). Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-87113-948-1. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- Dull, Paul S. (1978). A Battle History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1941–1945. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-097-6.
- Evans, David; Peattie, Mark (1997). Kaigun: Strategy, Tactics and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy 1887–1941. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-192-8.
- ISBN 978-0-394-58875-9.
- Halsey, William F.; Bryan, Joseph III (1947). Admiral Halsey's Story. New York; London: Whittlesey House. OL 13528468M.
- Hone, Thomas C. (Winter 2013). "Replacing Battleships with Aircraft Carriers in the Pacific in World War II". Naval War College Review. 66 (1): 56–76. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-674-04963-5.
- Melton, Buckner F. Jr. (2007). Sea Cobra, Admiral Halsey's Task Force and the Great Pacific Typhoon. Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-59228-978-3. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-837-15795-5.
- Morison, Samuel Eliot (1948). The Rising Sun in the Pacific 1931 – April 1942. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. 3. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company.
- ——— (1958). The Struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Vol. 5. Boston, MA: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-58305-3.
- Parshall, Jonathan; Tully, Anthony (2005). Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books. ISBN 1-57488-923-0.
- ISBN 978-1-59114-692-6.
- ——— (1985). Bull Halsey. U.S. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-59114-691-9.
- ——— (1976). Nimitz. U.S. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-0-87021-492-9.
- ISBN 978-1-55750-800-3.
- Tolley, Kemp (1983). Caviar and Commissars: the Experience of a U.S. Naval Officer in Stalin's Russia. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 978-1-55750-407-4.
- Tuohy, William (2007). America's Fighting Admirals:Winning the War at Sea in World War II. Zenith Press. ISBN 978-0-7603-2985-6.
- Willmott, H. P. (1984). June, 1944. Poole, Dorset, UK: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-1446-8.
- ——— (2005). "Six, The Great Day of Wrath". The Battle of Leyte Gulf: The Last Fleet Action. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-34528-8.
- Wildenberg, Thomas (Winter 2005). "Midway: Sheer Luck or Better Doctrine?". Naval College War Review. 58 (1).
- Wukovits, John (2010). Admiral "Bull" Halsey – The Life and Wars of the Navy's Most Controversial Commander. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-60284-7.
- "Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey Jr". Naval History and Heritage Command. April 8, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
Further reading
- Dillard, Nancy R. (May 20, 1997). "Operational Leadership: A Case Study of Two Extremes during Operation Watchtower" (Academic report). Joint Military Operations Department, Naval War College. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
- Drury, Robert; Clavin, Tom (December 28, 2006). "How Lieutenant Ford Saved His Ship". New York Times.
- Thomas, Evan (2006). Sea of Thunder: Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-5221-8.
- Hughes, Thomas (January 2013). "Learning to Fight: Bill Halsey and the Early American Destroyer Force". Journal of Military History (77): 71–90.
- Mossman, B. C.; Stark, M. W. (1991). "Chapter XVIII: Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey Jr., Special Military Funeral, 16 – August 20, 1959". The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921–1969. Washington, D.C.: Department of the Army. CMH Pub 90-1. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
- Pacific Crucible: War at Sea in the Pacific, 1941–1942. New York: W. W. Norton.
- ——— (2015). The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944. New York: W. W. Norton.
- ——— (2020). Twilight of the Gods: War in the Western Pacific, 1944–1945. New York: W. W. Norton.