P. T. Deutermann - Pacific Glory

To Vice Admiral Edward S. Briggs, U.S. Navy (Ret.), once a prince, always a prince

I want to thank the Naval History Division in Washington for use of a picture used as the basis for the cover. Thanks also to my editor, George Witte, and my copy editor, India Cooper, for their substantial help in scrubbing the manuscript. As always, they make me look better than I am at this business. My father, Vice Admiral H. T. Deutermann, is long gone, but he felt passionately about what happened off Samar in October 1944, and this was the spark, I think, that ultimately led to this book.

CONTENTS

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

My son who wasnt really my son steered the boat around the western edge of Ford Island, bringing into view the distant naval shipyard, its dock cranes festooned in blinking red aircraft-warning lights.

He was such a handsome young man, both hands on the wheel, big, tall, and spread-legged at the console, every inch the successful lawyer, husband, and father, confidently enjoying yet another of Oahus perpetually perfect evenings.

Anywhere along here, I called up to him from the drinking deck.

He put the thirty-six-footer into neutral, then reverse, and let her idle down to a stop about two hundred yards off the rusting, gull-splattered battleship moorings. A moment later, as she gathered bare sternway, he hit the button to drop the anchor, then shut down the engines. He went forward, checked the anchor, and joined me back aft. He topped up my Scotch and then his.

I gave her full scope, he said. Deep here.

Good idea, I said. People forgetPearl Harbors a drowned crater.

He sat back in his deck chair, tipped his glass in a casual salud, and enjoyed my single malt. I tipped my claw in his direction and did the same. He frowned at my stainless steel appendage.

They make such good prostheses these days, he said. I cant believe you want to keep that thing.

I smiled in the growing darkness. Koa wood peg leg, surgical steel claw? Aa-a-r-r, matey. All I need is an eye patch, an insolent parrot, and a bit more hair. Make all the pretty girls shiver their timbersand other things.

He laughed. Used to make us kids shiver, too, he said, but for different reasons. He sipped some more Scotch, then put down his glass.

So, he said. Youve flown all the way out from the East Coast. Great to see you, as always, but whats the occasion?

I need to give you some news and tell you a story, I said.

He frowned again. Being a lawyer, he probably did that a lot. People rarely brought good news to a lawyer. Youre okay? he asked. Mom? Health issues?

Were fine, I said. Nothing like that. No, this goes back to the war, and even a few years before. First the news.

Okay, he said expectantly.

I took a deep breath. I need to make a confession of sorts, and to tell you a very personal story.

A confession? he asked, frowning. He was a corporate law guy, and for just a second, hed dropped back into professional character.

Yeah, I said, but not about a crime. Like I said, this goes back to the war.

He looked away for a moment, staring off across the dark reaches of the harbor, toward the reed swamps of the Waipio Peninsula and the baleful sodium vapor lights of the naval ammunition depot.

Am I going to like this story?

You need to hear it. Ill let you decide how you feel about it. Is there more of that Scotch in the locker?

The worlds supply, he said, settling into his chair.

The worlds supply, I thought. His father used to say that.

Guadalcanal, August 1942

Mister Marshall Vincent, Im ready to relieve you, sir.

Mister John OConnor. Im so very glad youre here, sir.

Ill bet you are, Jack said. Still, the midwatch is no lovely prospect, either. Whatve we got?

They were standing on the port side of the pilothouse, turning over the Officer of the Deck watch of the heavy cruiser USS Winston. Two more officers were doing the same thing a few feet away, turning over the junior OOD watch. Across the darkened pilothouse, the captain was dozing in his chair, which meant that all the watch standers were keeping their voices down. You didnt wake sleeping dogs, and you sure as hell didnt wake Captain Archibald Corley McClain III, not if you could help it.

Marsh recited the tactical situation. Steaming in column formation, with Vincennes ahead and Astoria astern, two thousand yards interval. Darkened ship, battle condition II, modified material condition Zebra. Course three one zero, speed ten. Quincy is guide, and OTC is CO Chicago.

Chicago ? Jack said. I thought the officer in tactical command was the Brit admiral in HMS Australia .

He and Australia apparently went to Tulagi for some kind of conference. That left Chicago as senior ship. Theres another group of cruisers south of us, but nobodys told us where or whos in charge.

Wonderful, Jack said. Any night orders from Chicago ?

Nope, Marsh said. We havent heard a word from them.

Hearing from anybody ?

Hourly radio checks, but just routine. Weve got troops on the beach at Tulagi and over on Guadalcanal proper. Thats all we know right now.

Okay, Jack said, shaking his head. What else you got for me?

Marsh knew it was a pretty thin turnover, but the troops had just gone in a few days before, and it looked to them that the top brass were playing it by ear until the Japs responded in force to the landings. Theyd sent one air strike already the previous afternoon, and one of the big transports was still burning to the south, the fire reflecting off the low overcast hugging the sound.

The nearest hazard to navigation is Savo Island, bearing two five zero, eight miles. Visibility is darker than a well-diggers ass, and, so far, no Japs.

That we know of, Jack said.

That we know of, Marsh agreed. And if they come, let us pray that they come in daylight.

Theyd been briefed at an all-officers meeting earlier that a Jap task force had been spotted the day before, headed down from Rabaul toward the Slot, a narrow body of water running the length of the Solomon Islands. That could well put them off Guadalcanal sometime soon. As everyone knew, Jap cruisers tended to go fast.

If they do come tonight, hopefully our two radar-equipped tin cans will see em.

Amen to that, Jack said. Picket stations?

Blue is out there somewhere to the northwest, above Savo. Ralph Talbot is northeast of Savo. They both have radar. We had one TBS check with Blue an hour ago. Lousy comms, but nothing to report.

They then reviewed the status of the main battery guns and the engineering plant. Nothing had changed since supper. Okay, Beauty, he said. Ive got it. See you in six.

I stand relieved, Marsh said and handed over the heavy 7 50 Bausch & Lomb binoculars. Then he turned toward the dark figures behind the helm and lee helm consoles. Attention in the pilothouse: Mister OConnor has the deck, he announced as quietly as he could.

There was a chorus of equally quiet aye-aye-sirs from the rest of the bridge watch. Marsh checked to make sure the captain was still asleep and then made his way aft to the door leading into the charthouse. The night was warm and muggy, and the darkness was absolute, with only the dimmed red lights from the companionway below showing as he went through the door. He hadnt been kidding about a night encounter with Jap cruisers. As assistant gunnery officer, he knew Winston s gun director optics were no match for the comparable Japanese equipment, not to mention that their cruisers were faster and better armed than the Americans.

He smiled as he went below. Jack had called him Beauty. Hed acquired that nickname during plebe year at the Naval Academy, back in 1928. Marsh was not a handsome man. In fact, homely would probably be the kindest description of his facial features. He was not quite six feet tall and had large ears and a long face with a bit of a lantern jaw, topped by an unruly shock of black hair that ended in a widows peak between friendly farm-boy blue eyes. The day the brigade of upperclassmen returned to Bancroft Hall after their summer cruise, a firstie slammed into their plebe room, looked the fresh meat over while they stood at rigid, sweaty attention, focused on Marsh, and said, Arent you a regular beauty. There it was, forever and ever.