To that end he had sought the support of powerful politicians, desisting only when exasperated FDR informed him that if the Pacific were to have a Supreme Commander, it would be Chester Nimitz. Maybe Nimitz' proposal was attractive to him because it delayed the politically explosive question of who would be the Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific: Nimitz or MacArthur? For years, Douglas MacArthur had sought the eminence, almost insanely jealous of the title of Supreme Allied Commander, European Theatre, held by his "former clerk", Dwight Eisenhower. Also, from Iwo Jima and Okinawa the giant B-29s could intensify their bombardment of Japan and might even bomb Nippon into submission without invading her home islands.Īdmiral King listened with raised eyebrows, and eventually – to Nimitz team's relieved surprise – agreed to substitute Iwo and Okinawa for his Formosa plan. This would completely sever Japan from her oil resources in Sumatra, Burma, and Borneo, without which her airplanes could not fly, her fleets could not sail, her vehicles roll, or her industries produce. He suggested to his chief that if he acquiesced in MacArthur's liberation of Luzon and recapture of Manila, these victories would clear the Pacific for the direct invasion of Japan's home islands by seizing Iwo Jima and Okinawa and using them as staging areas. Only at the introduction of MacArthur's name, one of the admiral's eyelids might have flickered, but Nimitz was prepared for that moment, ready to give an alternative to King's cherished plan. If Nimitz and staff could persuade King to accept General Douglas MacArthur's plan to invade Luzon in the Philippines instead, the conference would result in a rare interservice cooperation.Īs the pink-cheeked, baby-faced Nimitz explained to the stern-faced King why his cherished invasion of Formosa would be impossible to mount at that time – the casualty estimate, based upon U.S losses of 17,000 dead and wounded eliminating 32,000 dug-in Japanese on island of Saipan, would reach 150,000 or more, a slaughter the POA's resources could not bear – Ernest King's face remained stony. They knew that King was convinced the next operation in the Pacific should be landings on the island of Formosa off the Chinese coast. (Indeed, Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox, his civilian chief, had ordered from Tiffany's a silver miniature blowtorch with that inscription on it.) Therefore, there was some fear among Nimitz and his Army chiefs, as well as Admiral Raymond Spruance, alternate chief of Nimtz' battle fleet. This would not be easy, for the lean, hard, humorless King was known to be "so tough he shaves with a blowtorch". While this was the conference's official goal, the unspoken objective was to persuade the grouchy, often stubborn King to accept Nimitz' battle plan instead of King's own. On September 29, 1944, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, commander of the Pacific Ocean Area, and Fleet Admiral Ernest King, chief of U.S Naval Operations, discussed in San Francisco the next steps to be taken to deliver the final blow to the staggering Japan. Robert Leckie died on December 24, 2001, after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Leckie subsequently wrote more than 40 books on American war history, spanning from the French and Indian War (1754–1763) to Operation Desert Storm (1991). I have to let people know the war wasn't a musical His first and best-selling book, ''Helmet for My Pillow'', a war memoir, was published in 1957. He said "I have to tell the story of how it really was. He married Vera Keller, a childhood neighbor, and they had three children: David, Geoff and Joan According to Vera, in 1951 he was inspired to write a memoir after seeing ''South Pacific '' on Broadway and walking out halfway through. He returned to the United States in March 1945 and was honorably discharged shortly thereafter.įollowing World War II, Leckie worked as a reporter for the Associated Press, the ''Buffalo Courier-Express'', the ''New York Journal American'', the ''New York Daily News'' and ''The Star-Ledger''. Leckie saw combat in the Battle of Guadalcanal, the Battle of Cape Gloucester, and had been wounded by blast concussion in the Battle of Peleliu. On January 18, 1942, Leckie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.He served in combat in the Pacific theater, as a scout and a machine gunner in H Company, 2nd Battalion 1st Marines Regiment 1st Marine Division (United States). He began his career as a writer in high school, as a sports writer for ''The Bergen Evening Record'' in Hackensack, New Jersey. Leckie was born on December 18, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |