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By Root 1854 0

had functioning sonar systems. Hoover conceded that both the Fletcher and Sterett had working sound gear, though the latter was badly damaged. He added that he felt the need to bring damaged ships safely home outweighed the uncertain gain of searching for survivors of a vessel that had exploded so violently. Hoover emphasized the dangerous nature of the waters he was transiting, pointing to the dispatch the Juneau sent him that morning, notifying him of the threat of enemy aircraft and urging him to ask for prompt support from the Enterprise task force. He mentioned that neither the Helena nor the San Francisco had planes on board to hunt submarines.

But the merits of arguments no longer mattered. The fix was in. According to Bin Cochran of the Helena, the brawling and ill-tempered Captain Miles Browning, Halsey’s chief of staff, had argued fiercely for Hoover’s relief and later bragged about having Hoover sacked. Cochran, like most of his shipmates, held Hoover in high esteem for the coolheaded manner in which he had led the ship through two ferocious actions. Browning impressed people less.

Even Chester Nimitz’s moderating voice couldn’t overcome the damning effect of Halsey’s memo. As reports and memoranda proceed up the Navy’s chain of command, commanders are given the chance to add their own comments, or “endorsements,” for the benefit of higher-ups. In his December 4 endorsement to Admiral King’s copy of the memo, Nimitz acknowledged the difficult trial Hoover faced, confronted with a hard decision in perilous waters. He stated that the failure of the B-17 to report the loss of the Juneau in time was not Hoover’s fault. Referring to sighting reports Hoover had received of enemy carriers, surface ships, and submarines nearby, he wrote, “Under these conditions the situation confronting Captain Hoover was one in which the necessity for getting his damaged ships back to a base was balanced against the natural instinct of every naval officer to go to the rescue of officers and men in distress and danger. Whatever may be the opinion of Captain Hoover’s decision in this matter, he was the responsible officer on the spot and, from his war record, which includes two important night engagements, his courage may not be questioned.” Breaking with Halsey, Nimitz recommended that King give Hoover “a suitable command at sea” after some time to rest.

It didn’t matter. In the competitive, political world of the admiralty, written criticism from an area commander was inerasable, a terminal act. Halsey’s impulsive disgust could not be unwritten, not by the Pacific Ocean Area commander in chief, and not even by Halsey himself after he later admitted that he had acted unjustly and in haste. The variances in Halsey’s written accounts of his evaluation of Hoover’s performance are curious. In his memoirs he offered “a confession of a grievous mistake.… I concluded that I had been guilty of an injustice.” The draft manuscript of his memoirs offers a fuller discussion of these events than appears in the published version.

CinCPac was in disagreement with me on my judgment, wondering if I had done an injustice to a man who had had a magnificent combat record. I was finally convinced that this man at the time in question was suffering from an aggravated case of combat fatigue and that his guts alone had kept him going. In modern warfare guts are not always enough—a man’s brain must be clear. I wrote an official letter stating my belief that this officer had been suffering from combat fatigue at that time and that I had possibly committed an error of judgment in detaching him under such drastic circumstances. I requested that he be given a combatant command and stated that I should be delighted to have him in such a position under my command. I am afraid that my late action in attempting to clear this officer of the stigma that resulted from my detaching him had not been successful although it most certainly alleviated his feelings. I am deeply regretful of the whole incident. I have already acknowledged my mistake to him and to the Navy Department,