Five-Star Admirals of United States

choi

Andrew Roberts, The Hands on the Tiller. Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2012
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 56392157165850.html
(book review on Walter R Borneman, The Admirals; Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King--the 5-star admirals who won the war at sea. Little Brown, 2012)

Quote: "Mr Borneman shows how much Harry Truman—who was so remote from grand strategic decision making that he didn't even learn that America had a nuclear program until he was president—relied on Leahy's self-effacing loyalty to prepare him for the commandership in chief after FDR's death.

Note:
(a)
(i) tiller (n; from Anglo-French teiler stock of a crossbow):
"a lever used to turn the rudder of a boat from side to side; broadly : a device or system that plays a part in steering something"
www.m-w.com

* crossbow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossbow
(A crossbow is a weapon bow mounted on a stick (called a tiller or stock) with a mechanism in it which holds the drawn bow string)
(ii) tiller
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiller

(b) William D Leahy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_D._Leahy
(1875–1959; Chief of Naval Operations (1937–39); US Ambassador to Vichy France (1941-1942); In effect, though not in title [his title being Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief], he was the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1942-1949))
(c) Ernest King
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_King
(1878-1956; Chief of Naval Operations (1942-1945))
(d) Chester W Nimitz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_W._Nimitz
(1885-1966; Chief of Naval Operations (CNO; 1945-1947))
(e) William Halsey, Jr. "Commander, Third Fleet," Undated.
http://www.c3f.navy.mil/Halsey_Page.html
(1882-1959; "was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Third Fleet in 1944. He provided support for General Douglas MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines in 1944. The Japanese surrender in World War II took place on his flagship, the battleship USS Missouri, in Tokyo Bay")
* See maps ONLY (for Third Fleet's area of responsibility) in
United States Third Fleet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Third_Fleet

* The foursome were the only five-star admirals. See Fleet Admiral (United States)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleet_Admiral_(United_States)
(The insignia for a Fleet Admiral is composed of five silver stars; The United States rank of Fleet Admiral was created by an Act of Congress on a temporary basis under PubL 78-482 on Dec 14, 1944, and made permanent by PubL 79-333 on Mar 23, 1946)

(f) martinet (n; Jean Martinet, 17th century French army officer; First Known Use 1737):
"1: a strict disciplinarian
2: a person who stresses a rigid adherence to the details of forms and methods"

(g) The review stated, "Both King and Nimitz thought Halsey made a hash of the battle of Leyte Gulf."

hash (n):
"1: chopped food; specifically : chopped meat mixed with potatoes and browned
* * *
3b : a confused muddle <made a hash of the whole project>"

(h) For "court of inquiry," see Naval Board of Inquiry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Board_of_Inquiry
(or Naval Court of Inquiry)
(i)
* Wake Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wake_Island
(located about two-thirds of the way from Honolulu to Guam; presently an unorganized, unincorporated territory of the United States; The island was eventually named for Captain William Wake, master of the British trading schooner, Prince William Henry, who visited in 1796)
* Battle of Wake Island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Wake_Island
(began simultaneously with the Attack on Pearl Harbor [Dec 8] and ended on 23 Dec 23, 1941, with the surrender of the American forces to the Empire of Japan)

(j) cipher (n; from Arabic ṣifr empty, zero):
"1a : ZERO
b : one that has no weight, worth, or influence : NONENTITY"

(k) For Anglophobic (adj), see
Anglophobe (n; First Known Use 1866): "a person who is averse to or dislikes England and things English"
(l)
* Battle of Leyte Gulf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leyte_Gulf
(generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history; also notable as the first battle in which Japanese aircraft carried out organized kamikaze attacks; Oct 23–26, 1944; Neither US Navy (Third and Seventh Fleets) nor Imperial Japanese Navy (using three separate fleets) were under a unified command: "This lack of a unified command, along with failures in communication, was to produce a crisis, and very nearly a strategic disaster, for the American forces")  
* Leyte Gulf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyte_Gulf
(a body of water immediately east of the island of Leyte)
* Leyte (island)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyte_(island)
("Leyte is most famous for its role in the reconquest of the Philippines in World War II. On 20 October 1944, General Douglas MacArthur waded ashore on Leyte, saying 'I have returned'")