WILLIAM HALSEY, JR.

Fleet Admiral 'William Frederick "Bull" Halsey, Jr.', GBE USN (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was a U.S. naval officer and the commander of the U.S. Third Fleet during much of the Pacific War against Japan.

Contents

Early life

Inter-war years

World War II

Leyte Gulf

Post-war

Dates of rank

Awards and decorations

References in popular culture

External links

Early life

Halsey was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on October 30 1882, the son of Captain William F. Halsey, Sr. USN. He attended the Pingry School as a boy. After waiting two years for an appointment to the US Naval Academy, Halsey decided to study medicine at the University of Virginia and get into the Navy as a doctor. He chose the university because his best friend, Karl Osterhause, was there. Years later, Halsey admitted that he didn't learn much during his one and only year at UVA, but he had a wonderful time. He became a member of St. Anthony Hall[1] and, for the rest of his life, he carried the fraternity's emblem on his watch chain. He graduated in 1904 from the United States Naval Academy with several athletic honors. He spent his early service years in battleships and torpedo craft. The United States Navy was expanding at that time, and the Navy was short on officers; Halsey was one of the few who were promoted directly from Ensign to full Lieutenant, skipping the rank of Lieutenant (junior grade). Torpedoes and torpedo craft became a specialty for him, and he commanded the First Group of the Atlantic Fleet's Torpedo Flotilla in 1912 through 1913, and several torpedo boats and destroyers during the 1910s and 1920s. Lieutenant Commander Halsey's World War I service, including command of USS ''Shaw'' in 1918, was sufficiently distinctive to earn a Navy Cross.

Inter-war years

From 1922 through 1925, Halsey served as Naval Attache in Berlin, Germany, and commanded USS ''Dale'' during a European cruise. During 1930–1932, Captain Halsey led two destroyer squadrons. He studied at the Naval War College in the mid-1930s. Prior to assuming command of an aircraft carrier, he received aviation instruction, taking the more difficult Naval Aviator rather than Aviation Observer program. He insisted on taking the full twelve week course, and was the last one of his class to graduate. He then commanded the carrier USS ''Saratoga'' and the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, Florida. Halsey was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1938, commanding Carrier Divisions for the next three years, and, as a Vice Admiral, also serving as Commander Aircraft Battle Force.

World War II

Vice Admiral Halsey was at sea in his flagship, USS ''Enterprise'', during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Upon learning of the Japanese attack, he was overheard remarking that after this war the Japanese language would only be spoken in hell. Halsey's contempt for the Japanese was well displayed throughout the war to the officers and sailors under his command in very successful campaigns to boost morale. One such example was a sign that Halsey had hanging on the bulkhead of his flag quarters that said "Kill Japs, Kill Japs, Kill More Japs!". During the first six months of the war, his carrier task force took part in raids on enemy-held islands and in the Doolittle Raid on Japan. By this time he had acquired the nickname "Bull," after his slogan, "Hit hard, hit fast, hit often".
Beached by a very servere attack of psoriasis just before the June 1942 Battle of Midway, he lent his chief of staff, Captain Miles Browning, to his hand-picked successor, Rear Admiral Raymond Spruance, who under the overall command of Vice Admiral Fletcher, and despite difficulties from Browning, led the American carrier forces to a brilliant victory against the superior Japanese Combined Fleet.
Halsey took command in the South Pacific Area in mid-October 1942, at a critical stage of the Guadalcanal Campaign. After Guadalcanal was secured in February 1943, Admiral Halsey's forces spent the rest of the year battling up the Solomon Islands Chain to Bougainville, then isolated the Japanese fortress at Rabaul by capturing positions in the Bismarck Archipelago.
Admiral Halsey left the South Pacific in May 1944, as the war surged toward the Philippines and Japan. From September 1944 to January 1945, he led the Third Fleet during campaigns to take the Palaus, Leyte and Luzon, and on many raids on Japanese bases.

Leyte Gulf

In the Battle of Leyte Gulf, he took the Third Fleet in pursuit of a force of Japanese carriers, leaving the Japanese surface fleet to engage a task force of destroyer escorts and light carriers. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was a complicated affair, in part because portions of the American fleet were uninformed about the other's areas of responsibility. (The mish-mash of signals is covered in detail in the novel ''War and Remembrance'', by Herman Wouk.)
Despite aerial reconnaissance reports on the night of 24–25 October, Halsey or his staff failed to take note of the approaching Japanese center force via San Bernardino Strait. When the crisis erupted off Samar the next morning, the 3rd Fleet striking arm was headed north to engage Japanese carriers off Cape Engaño. In his absence, the Seventh Fleet lost an escort carrier and three destroyers (totaling 660 men) to Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's battleships and cruisers.

A message from Admiral Chester Nimitz asking for the location of Task Force 34 ("Turkey trots to water. Where is repeat where is Task Force 34? The world wonders"), the battleships that should have been covering the approaches to Leyte, led to ill-feeling due to a misunderstood piece of security padding (see "the world wonders"). Halsey recovered, though, by winning the battle though without the hammer-blow victory for which he had hoped.
After the Leyte Gulf engagement, the 3rd Fleet was confronted with another powerful enemy: "Halsey's Typhoon" in mid December. While conducting operations off the Philippines, the force remained on station rather than avoiding a major storm that sank three destroyers and inflicted damage on many other ships. Some 800 men were lost in addition to 146 aircraft. The storm is the central scene in Herman Wouk's ''The Caine Mutiny'' (and Halsey is an off-stage presence for much of the book). A smaller typhoon assailed the fleet a month later.
In January 1945, Halsey was routinely relieved by Admiral Raymond A. Spruance in command of the fleet (during this time called Fifth Fleet). Halsey resumed command of the Third Fleet from late May 1945 until the end of the war; he was present when Japan formally surrendered on the deck of his flagship, USS ''Missouri'', on September 2, 1945.

Post-war

Despite his record at Leyte and failure to avoid two typhoons, Halsey was promoted to Fleet Admiral in December 1945, largely through the efforts of an influential member of Congress, Representative Carl Vinson of Georgia. Halsey retired from active duty in March 1947. Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey died on August 20, 1959 and was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Frances Grandy Halsey (1887-1968), is buried with him.
Two ships have been named after Halsey, a decommissioned guided missile frigate (later cruiser) USS ''Halsey'' (CG-23) and a modern destroyer USS ''Halsey'' (DDG-97).

Dates of rank

★ Midshipman - Class of 1904

Ensign	Lieutenant Junior Grade	Lieutenant	Lieutenant Commander	Commander	Captain
O-1	O-2	O-3	O-4	O-5	O-6
February 2, 1906	February 2, 1909	February 2, 1909	August 29, 1916	February 1, 1918	February 10, 1927

Commodore	Rear Admiral	Vice Admiral	Admiral	Fleet Admiral
O-7	O-8	O-9	O-10	O-11
Never Held	March 1, 1938	June 13, 1940	November 18, 1942	December 11, 1945

Halsey never held the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, as he was appointed a full Lieutenant after three years of service as an Ensign. For administrative reasons, Halsey's naval record states that he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade and Lieutenant on the same day.
At the time of Halsey's promotion to Rear Admiral, the United States Navy did not maintain a one-star rank. Halsey was thus promoted directly from a Captain to a Two-Star Admiral.

Awards and decorations

★ Navy Cross

★ Navy Distinguished Service Medal with three gold stars

★ Army Distinguished Service Medal

★ Presidential Unit Citation (US)

★ World War I Victory Medal with Destroyer Clasp

★ American Defense Service Medal

★ American Campaign Medal

★ Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal

★ World War II Victory Medal

★ Mexican Service Medal

★ American Defense Service Medal with Fleet Clasp

★ National Defense Service Medal

★ Philippine Liberation Medal

★ Knight of the British Empire

References in popular culture

★ Halsey is mentioned in the Paul and Linda McCartney song "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey", a hit in 1971 and a staple of oldies/classic rock radio.

★ Halsey is mentioned in a derogatory sentence by Sean Connery's character in the film ''The Hunt for Red October'': "I ''know'' this book. Your conclusions were all wrong, Ryan. Halsey acted stupidly." In both the book and the film Jack Ryan, played by Alec Baldwin in the film, is the author of a biography of Halsey entitled ''Fighting Sailor''.

★ Halsey is mentioned in Tom Clancy's novel ''Red Rabbit'' as subject of main character's Jack Ryan's study and biography he works on.

★ Halsey has a small role in Harry Turtledove's ''Drive to the East'' novel. While the United States face off with the Confederacy as part of World War II, Halsey is involved in an operation aimed at forcing a crossing of the Rappahannock River in Virginia, in order to bring Union troops closer to Richmond.

★ Halsey makes a brief appearance in Herman Wouk's novel ''The Winds of War'', and has a more substantial supporting role in the sequel ''War and Remembrance''. Halsey was portrayed in the 1983 television miniseries adaptation of ''The Winds of War'' by Richard X. Slattery, and in the 1988 miniseries adaptation of ''War and Remembrance'' by Pat Hingle.

★ Halsey was portrayed by James Cagney in the 1960 film, ''The Gallant Hours''.

★ Halsey was portrayed by James Whitmore in the 1970 film, ''Tora! Tora! Tora!''.

★ Halsey was portrayed by Robert Mitchum in the 1976 film, ''The Battle of Midway''.

★ A street, Halsey Court, is named after him in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

★ At least two American colleges have buildings named after him: Halsey Hall at the University of Virginia and the Halsey Fieldhouse at the United States Naval Academy.

★ Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, New Jersey, renamed its auditorium after Halsey

★ The Elizabeth High School in New Jersey has a complex named for Halsey. (Halsey House).

★ Halsey was one of the four main characters in a history of the Battle of Leyte Gulf ''Sea of Thunder''.

External links

★ New York Times article: "How Lieutenant Ford Saved His Ship" by Robert Drury and Tom Clavin - NY Times, December 28, 2006

★ Interview with Robert Drury and Tom Clavin on ''Halsey's War'' at the Pritzker Military Library

★ William Halsey, Jr. biography on Official US Navy website

★ Naval Historical Center photos

★ Arlington Cemetery Page; also gives nickname "Bull"

★ The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921-1969, CHAPTER XVIII, Special Military Funeral for Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., August 16-20, 1959 by B.C. Mossman and M.W. Stark