Copyright © 2017
John F. Oyler
February 9, 2017
Admiral William
(Bull) Halsey
The Bridgeville Area Historical Society welcomed back Dr.
Jack Aupperle for its January program meeting. As is its custom, the Society
holds its January and February program meetings on Sunday afternoons, to
minimize potential winter weather complications for its members.
Dr. Aupperle has a remarkable talent for reviewing current
historical books and using their content as a basis for presenting a
comprehensive picture of a relevant event or individual. This time it was “Admiral
Bill Halsey: A Naval Life” by renowned historian Thomas Alexander Hughes. The
speaker drew on Hughes’ biography of the well-known World War II hero to
portray Halsey as a legitimate hero, an ordinary man who reacted heroically to
great challenges.
Halsey was born in 1882, the son of a career Naval officer
whose career was nondescript. He followed his father to Annapolis, where he too
graduated in the lower half of his class. Once on active duty, however, he
began to show great promise as a Naval officer at a time when the U. S. Navy
was in a massive transition from romantic sailing vessels to mechanized fleets
akin to floating industrial facilities.
In 1904 while an officer on the USS Missouri he was witness
to a frightful example of this transition when a accident with one of her port
guns resulted in the death of thirty one officers and men, an experience which
haunted him for the rest of his life. From 1907 to 1909 he served as a deck
officer on the USS Kansas as part of “the Great White Fleet”, Theodore
Roosevelt’s triumphant demonstration of the Navy’s new-found power by its circumnavigation
of the globe.
In recognition of his accomplishments Halsey was promoted
directly from Ensign to Lieutenant, skipping the rank of lieutenant junior
grade, a very unusual honor. When World War I broke out he was promoted to
lieutenant commander and commanded a destroyer the USS Shaw so well that he
earned the Navy Cross.
In 1934 Admiral Ernest King offered him command of the
aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. Captain Halsey accepted, with the provision that
he be permitted to learn to fly at Pensacola. At age 52,He became the oldest officer
in the Navy to earn his wings. After commanding the Saratoga and then the
Pensacola Naval Air Station he was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1938.
In 1940 his carrier division was relocated to Hawaii, and
Halsey was promoted to Vice Admiral. In early December 1941 his division, including
the carrier USS Enterprise, was transporting aircraft to Wake Island to fend
off a potential sneak attack by the Japanese, when they learned that Pearl
Harbor was the actual target. Although they missed the opening act of the
Pacific War, members of the division soon saw significant action.
In April they rendezvoused with the USS Hornet and provided
cover for the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo. In October 1942 Halsey assumed command
of all the forces in the South Pacific Command. His first task was salvaging
the Allies’ position on Guadalcanal. That was followed by successful campaigns
in the Solomon Islands and the Bismarck Archipelago. Halsey’s aggressive use of
Naval aircraft was a key factor in their success.
When the war shifted from the South Pacific to the Central
Pacific he was given command of the Third Fleet, which operated effectively in
campaigns in the Palaus, Leyte, and Luzon. Halsey’s fighting career ended when
he stood on the deck of the USS Missouri and witnessed the signing of the
articles of surrender that terminated World War II. In 1947 a grateful nation
honored him by promotion to (five star) Fleet Admiral, a distinction shared by
three of his peers (Nimitz, Leahy, and King).
According to Dr. Aupperle, Halsey’s trademarks were
integrity, loyalty to the men who served with him, aggressiveness, and
impulsiveness. The latter trait betrayed him occasionally. During the landing
on Leyte his decision to pursue part of a retreating Japanese fleet left the
invasion uncovered, permitting another part of the enemy fleet to attack it
with nearly disastrous consequences.
The speaker summed up his presentation by concluding that we
must accept the fact that even our greatest heroes are not entirely perfect.
His presentation was informative and entertaining; we look forward to hearing
him again in the future.
In the near future, the Society’s next program meeting is
scheduled for 1:30 pm, Sunday, February 26, 2017, in the Chartiers Room of the
Bridgeville Volunteer Fire Department. Todd Wilson will speak on “Pittsburgh’s
Bridges”, the subject of an Arcadia book he recently authored. The public is
welcome, as always.
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