Halsey's Typhoon: The True Story of a Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, and an Untold Rescue, by Bob Drury (TPB, 2007, $2.50) **SOLD**
Admiral Halsey was a great leader. The Third Pacific Fleet was a great fleet. They were both on their way to protect MacArthur's flank as he tried to retake the Philippines in 1944. Typhoon Cobra, a massive storm with waves 90 feet tall, got in their way and mangled the fleet. Almost 800 men died, more than twice those at the Battle of Midway. Was anyone to blame?
Weather forecasting then was still in its infancy. Radar was primitive. Captains usually heard about bad weather from other captains, but it was war and there were no ships out there. Besides, there was a war going on, and no bad weather could keep the Navy from its duty.
This is the story of two captains, one an experienced naval officer, one a young Navy Reserve captain with only 18 months experience at sea. The first officer commanded a destroyer, staffed with career sailors. The second officer, who captained a destroyer escort, had both inexperienced officers and crew. Only 4 of his 12 officers had EVER been to sea before. Most of the crew had been sailors for only 3 MONTHS!
Even so, it was the destroyer that sunk, and the little top-heavy destroyer escort that rescued 55 sailors from the sea. The little ship had been heavily damaged, its main mast ripped clear off. The fleet thought her gone, but amazingly the "Tabby" survived. Waves higher than the ship even when she had a mast, made the usual method of rescuing sailors impossible. But Captain Henry Plage had once read about another way. It was so risky none but the most experienced would even consider it, but what else could they do? Time and time again the ship would race toward a man in the water, turning only at the last moment (which meant they hit the waves head on), while pulling in the nearly dead sailor before he washed out of reach. Sometimes they found the life jackets empty. Sometimes the men were dead. But if they were alive, the Tabby rescued them, dried them, and fed them ice cream.
The first captain was exonerated by the navy, but became the inspiration for Herman Wouk's novel, The Cain Mutiny. Captain Plage did receive a navy citation, but was pretty much forgotten, except by the men who had sailed with him, and the men whose lives he had saved.
An amazing story. A true story. Look for it on the new non-fiction table. (L. WWII)
