by Oliver North
LST: Landing Ship Tank
At 316 feet long, capable of carrying tanks, troops, and supplies onto a beach in an amphibious assault
MIA: Missing in Action
MOTHER SHIPS: Ordinary ships, usually submarines, that carried so-called “midget” submarines (see SPS) to sites close to their attack objective
OSS: Office of Strategic Services
World War II intelligence agency, forerunner of CIA
PBY: Patrol Bomber aircraft
The “Y” in the designation signifies the manufacturer, Consolidated Aircraft Corp
POW: Prisoner of War
RAF: Royal Air Force (Great Britain)
RENTAI : Japanese word for “regiment”
RISKOSENTAI : Japanese word for Imperial Navy marines
SAR: Search and Rescue
SEABEES: Nickname for CBs (Construction Battalion personnel)
SENTAI: Japanese word for “wing,” as in Sentai Hiko
SORTIE: A single mission flown by a single military aircraft
SPS: Special Purpose Submarine(s)
The “midget” submarines—seventy-eight feet long and six feet high—that were developed by the Japanese for special missions in World War II
SS: Submarine
TBS: Talk Between Ships
Radio used on amphibious assaults
VMF: Designation for USMC Fighter Squadron
USAAC: United States Army Air Corps
World War II predecessor to U.S. Air Force
USS: United States Ship
Abbreviated designation used with ship’s name to identify country of origin
ZERO (AKA ZEKE) : Nickname given by American pilots for the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Reisan (pronounced ray-san) that ruled the skies over the Pacific. A later model of the Zero was nicknamed Zeke.
ZERO WARD: Where wounded, sick, and dying patients were sent when nothing could be done to save them
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in one of his fireside chats to the American people in February 1942, said, “Never before have we had so little time to do so much.”
That’s the way I’ve felt during this past year and a half after agreeing to do a series of books based on my FOX News Channel, War Stories television documentaries. The initial book was based on eyewitness accounts and reports filed while I was embedded with U.S. military units for FOX News from the middle of February through April 2003. Thanks to my producers in New York, my Iraq combat cameraman Griff Jenkins, and my friend Joe Musser, that initial work, War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom, stands as a first draft of history for a war that is still being fought.
For this second book in our series, my publisher asked me to focus on the Pacific theater during World War II. Since none of us involved wanted this to be just another historical review of major battles or key events, we agreed that it must offer the kind of in-depth, first-person observations by participants for which War Stories has been acclaimed.
That proved to be no mean task. It required reviewing hundreds of interviews, thousands of pages of transcripts, and miles of videotape in order to accurately capture the heroic experiences and subsequent reflections of those who fought these terrible battles. It was likewise important that the final product provide a context for their compelling eyewitness observations.
Accomplishing all that in the time available was a goal that could only be achieved with the assistance of those whose help I acknowledge here. It is their commitment and hard work that makes these war stories so compelling—and inspiring.
Foremost among those who made this book possible are the remarkable veterans who agreed to recount their experiences in the Pacific theater. All of us involved in this project have been enriched by their intensely personal recollections. We have all been moved by the way so many of them endured terrible privation, loneliness, fear, and savagery—and yet describe it all simply as “a job that had to be done.”
The participants explain their victories, so critical to the outcome of the war, in a selfless, matter-of-fact way, with modesty and grace. Many told me things that they had never shared before—not even with their wives or children. I am grateful to them for that and grateful for their valor, dedication, and service to our country. These brave Americans are featured in every chapter, and recognized in the epilogue. You will find their names listed there.
My admiration and gratitude also go to my wife and best friend, Betsy, and to our children and their spouses: daughters Sarah and her husband Martin; Tait and her husband Tom; and Dornin; and our son, Stuart and his wife, Ellen. There were all too many times when husband/dad was absent because of an always-impossible schedule, but they continue to show consummate understanding, devotion, and forgiveness.
This book would not have happened but for the team at FOX News led by Roger Ailes. He had the vision to make War Stories a reality and a great success. Kevin Magee, Bill Shine, and John Moody have made it possible for me to hang around with heroes—past and present—so that I can document what they do and have done. Jack Abernethy pays the bills and in between hurricanes, Dianne Brandi tries to keep me out of trouble.
Our War Stories Unit, headed by senior producer Pamela Browne, ensures that every televised documentary is flawless. Pamela personally made certain that the DVDs included in this book illuminate the eyewitness accounts of our participants. Producers Martin Hinton, Greg Johnson, Steve Tierney, Cyd Upson, and Ayse Weiting have all spent countless hours with each of the individuals we interviewed for this work, and in many cases built deeply personal relationships with these heroes and their families. My assistant producers were likewise essential to the success of this work. Kelly Guernica, Jason Kopp, and Bevin Mahoney devoted themselves to finding unique material for each of these heroic stories that otherwise might never have been recorded for posterity, while Michael Weiss mined hundreds of public and private sources for the historical photographs that appear in this book. My appreciation also goes to Peter Bregman for his help on the photo archives at Fox Movietone News, and to Don Brown for his contributions to the timeline.
Joe Musser, my friend, collaborator, and research partner of many years, pored over hours and reams of War Stories tapes, transcripts, maps, and interviews and did months of research in order to pare down mountains of excellent possibilities to a workable outline. Joe also found in David Deis a cartographer of great talent, who rendered the superb maps for each chapter to help readers comprehend the events more easily.
I’m more than grateful for the extraordinary assistance and forbearance of Marji Ross and her team at Regnery Publishing. Editor Miriam Moore and art director Amanda Larsen encouraged me with their patience and faith that this book really could get finished. Their associate, Paula Decker, ably assisted in that effort.
This book, a collaboration between FOX News Channel and Regnery Publishing, could never have come about but for the work of Williams & Connelly, where Bob Barnett and Kathleen Ryan dotted all the “i”s and crossed every “t” in all the requisite documents.
All who have worked on this project are indebted to the authors, historians, museum directors, and curators who have participated in our Pacific campaign War Stories documentaries. Helen McDonald, at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas, deserves more than thanks for all she has done to support this work. We have also been aided in this effort by the wisdom and experience of:
• Colonel Joe Alexander, author of Utmost Savagery: The Three Days at Tarawa
• James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers
• Burl Burlingame, author of Advance Force Pearl Harbor
• Robert Cressman and Mark Horan, authors of A Glorious Page in Our History
• Benis Frank, Marine historian and author of several books on Okinawa
• Richard Frank, historian and author of Guadalcanal: The Definitive Account of a Landmark Battle
• Carroll Glines, author of Attack on Yamamoto and Jimmy Doolittle: Daredevil Aviat
or and Scientist
• Donald Goldstein, author of At Dawn We Slept
• Jack Green, curator and historian for the Naval Historical Center
• Eric Hammel, author of Bloody Tarawa
• Bradley Hartsell, military researcher
• E. B. Potter, editor of Sea Power
• Colonel John Ripley, director, U.S. Marine Corps History and Museums Division
• Hampton Sides, author of Ghost Soldiers
• R. D. Van Wagner, author of Any Time, Any Place, Anywhere
• John Wiltshire, director, Hawaii Undersea Research Lab
In order to even attempt such a project as this book without the help of all these people would have been foolhardy on my part, and I bow to these dedicated experts and friends who have made such worthy contributions to this work.
Semper Fidelis,
Oliver L. North
INDEX
A
Aaron Ward, USS
Abe, Hiroaki
A-Go
Akagi (Japanese carrier)
Akatsuki (Japanese destroyer)
Akui, Corporal
Alaska
Albacore, USS
Albert, Eddie
Albury. D.
Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Alexander, Harold
Alison, John
America, USS
American Volunteer Group (AVG). See also Flying Tigers
Anderson, First Sergeant
Antares, USS
Appalachian, USS
Arizona, USS
Arnold, Henry “Hap,” China-Burma-India theater and; Doolittle Raids and
Asagumo (Japanese destroyer)
Ashworth, Fred
Astoria, USS
Atago (Japanese cruiser)
Atlanta, USS
Atlantic Charter
atomic bomb
Austin, Paul
Australia
Australia, HMAS
B
Bagley, USS
Ball, Bill
Ball, Herb
Baltimore, USS
Bangkok, Thailand
Banker, Bobby
Barton, Dan
Barton, USS
Bataan Death March
Bataan Peninsula, Philippines; Philippines, fall of, and; Vella Lavella Island and
Bennion, USS
Beser, Jacob
Biddle, Francis
Birmingham, USS
Bismarck Sea, Battle of
Bismarck Sea, USS
Black Sheep Squadron; Bougainville; Munda Point, New Georgia, and; Vella Lavella Island and
Blanchard, Lee
Blandy, William
Block, Harlon
Bloody Nose Ridge
Bloody Ridge, Guadalcanal
Bluthardt, Raymond
Bock, Frederick
Bock’s Car
Bogan, Gerald
Boise, USS
Bolshevism
Bolt, John “Jack,”
Bonnyman, Alex
Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Black Sheep Squadron and
Bourgeois, Henry “Boo,”
Boyington, Gregory “Pappy,” Black Sheep Squadron and
Bradley, James
Bradley, John “Doc,”
Braemer, Fred
Breakneck Ridge, Leyte
Britain
Brown, Wilson
Buchanan, USS
Buckmaster, Elliott
Buckner, Simon Bolivar, Jr.
Buffington, Herman “Buff,”
Bunker Hill, USS
Burke, Arleigh
Burma. See also China-Burma-India theater
Bush, George H. W.
C
California, USS
Callaghan, Dan
CAMCO. See Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company
Campbell, Alexander
Camp Cabanatuan, Philippines
Camp O’Donnell POW Camp, Philippines
Camp Palawan
Canberra, HMAS
Caniff, Milton
Cape Engaño, Battle of
Cape Esperance, Battle of
Capra, Frank
Caron, George
Cassin, USS
Cavalla, USS
CBI. See China-Burma-India theater
Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO)
Ceylon. See Sri Lanka
Chamberlain, Bill
Chennault, Claire; Flying Tigers and
Chiang, Madame. See Soong Mei-ling
Chiang Kai-shek
Chicago, USS
Chicago Tribune
Chikuma (Japanese cruiser)
China; Doolittle Raids and; Flying Tigers and; Japanese control of. See also China-Burma-India theater
China-Burma-India (CBI) theater
China National Aviation Corporation
Chitose
Chiyoda (Japanese submarine)
Cho, General
Chokai (Japanese flagship)
Churchill, Winston; Atlantic Charter and; atomic bomb and; Japanese surrender and
Club Tsubaki
Cochran, Phil
code-breaking. See intelligence, U.S.
Cole, John
Cole, Richard “Dick,”
Colly, Tom
Condor, USS
Connelley, Major
Cook, John
Coral Sea, Battle of
09; map of; U.S. intelligence and
Cornwall (British cruiser)
Corregidor, Philippines
Crace, J. C.
Crane, Captain
Crowe, Jim
Curtiss, USS
Cushing, USS
D
Dace, USS
Dale, USS
Darter, USS
Darwin, Australia
Davis, Ray
Davison, Ralph
Day of Infamy. See Pearl Harbor
Decatur, USS
Delewski, Larry
DeShazer, Jacob “Jake,”
Detroit, USS
Dewa, Kichiji
Dixon, Robert E.
Doolittle, James H. “Jimmy,”. See also Doolittle Raids
Doolittle Raids; B-25 bombers and; casualties of; China and; Hornet, USS and; importance of
Dorsetshire (British cruiser)
Downes, USS
Duckworth, Colonel
“Dugout Doug.” See MacArthur, Douglas
Duncan, USS
Dunham, Eddie
Durasole, Tex
Duzenbury, Wyatt
Dyer, T. H.
E
Eastern Solomons, Battle for
Edson, Merritt “Red Mike,”
Elliot, USS
Emrich, W. Thomas
Enola Gay
Enterprise, USS; Coral Sea, Battle of, and; Doolittle Raids and; Guadalcanal and; Midway, Battle of, and
Erskine, General
Essex, USS
Ethiopia
F
Farenholt, USS
Fascism
Ferebee, Thomas
First Carrier Strike Force (Japanese)
Fisher, Jim
Fitch, Aubrey
Fletcher, Jack; Coral Sea, Battle of, and; Guadalcanal and; Midway, Battle of, and; Pearl Harbor response and
Fletcher, USS
Flying Tigers
Fort McKinley, Philippines
Foss, Joe
Fox, Fred
Fox Movietone News
France
Franklin, USS
Fredericksburg, Tex.
Fuchida, Mitsuo: Midway, Battle of, and; Pearl Harbor and
Fuentes, Dorothy. See Phillips, Claire
Furuno, Shigemi
Fushimi, Hiroyasu
Fuso (Japanese battleship)
G
Gagnon, Rene
Gallagher, Ray
Gambier Bay, USS
Gary, Donald
Gayle, Gordon
Geiger, Roy
Genda, Minoru
General Anderson, USS
General Motors
Geneva Convention
Germany: end of World War II and; entry into World War II of; Fascism in; Wehrmacht of
Ghormley, Robert
Ghosts of Bataan, rescue of
Gilbert Islands, Battle for
Gittelson, Roland
Glassford, W. A.
Gordon, Richard (Dick)
Goto, Aritomo
Grant, USS
Grayling, USS
Great Depression
Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Great Marianas Turkey Shoot
Griffin, Thomas
Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; Bloody Ridge, First Battle of; Bloody Ridge, Second Battle of; Cape Esperance, Battle of; Eastern Solomons, Battle for; Japanese failure at; map of; Naval Battle of; Santa Cruz Islands, Battle of; Savo Island, Battle of; Tassafaronga, Battle of; U.S. intelligence and
Guam; beginning of World War II and; Japanese seizure of; Marianas, assault on, and; Pearl Harbor and
H
Hackleback, USS
Halloway, Jim
Halsey, William “Bull:” Black Sheep Squadron and; Bougainville and; Doolittle Raids and; Guadalcanal and; Japanese surrender and; Leyte, Battle of, and; Midway, Battle of, and; Pearl Harbor response and; Rabaul and; Tarawa and
Hamakaze (Japanese destroyer)
Hammann, USS
Hara, Tadaichi
Harper, Ed
Haruna (Japanese battleship)
Hatch, Norman
Hawaii. See Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Hawaii National Guard
Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory
Hayes, Charlie
Hayes, Ira
Hayes, John
Haynes, Fred
Heckt, Mel
Heermann, USS
Helena, USS
Henderson, Lofton
Henley, USS
Hermes, HMS
Hiei (Japanese battleship)
Hill, Harry
Hillis, Tommy
Hirohito, Emperor
Hiroshima, Japan, bombing of
Hirota, Koki
Hiru (Japanese cruiser)
Hiryu (Japanese carrier)
Hite, Robert “Bobby,”
Hitler, Adolf