He was in this post on June 4, 1942, when the Japanese navy attacked Midway Island in force. Spruances fleet had prevented the Japanese from reinforcing the Saipan garrison. In April 1942 he offered support to carriers that launched the Doolittle Raid, an air raid on Tokyo and other parts of Honshu island. D. Suburban America, 100 POINTS! Admiral Spruances last campaigns were the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and he was awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism. edward dean spruancegarberiel battery charger manual 26th February 2023 / in what's happening in silsbee, tx today / by / in what's happening in silsbee, tx today / by His steady rise, according to Newsweek magazine, has borne the imprint of his personalityunobtrusive but undeviating. Spruance received the Navy Cross for his actions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa.[23]. Raymond Ames Spruance (July 3, 1886 - December 13, 1969) was a United States Navy admiral in World War II. On June 4, Spruance and Fletcher engaged four Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway. However, his actions were both praised and understood by the main persons ordering and directly involved in the battle. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D. By shortly after 9 a.m., planes from Yorktown were also on their way. They find and score 3 hits on the USS Yorktown, but also sustain heavy losses. All three were eventually scuttled. During this period, Spruance served aboard USS Minnesota (BB-22) during the cruise of the Great White Fleet. His squadron successfully ambushed and sank 3 Japanese Aircraft Carriers, Lieutenant in command of the USS Hornet air group. It was bombed by dive bombers from the Enterprise and as scuttled shortly after Nagumo was forced by his staff to evacuate. He was dragged out of his flagship Akagi before it sank against his will. The setback in the Japanese timetable to encircle the Pacific gave the U.S. industrial machine time to crank up war production, and ultimately, to turn the advantage on Japan in the production of ships, planes, guns, and all the other matriel of war. The U.S. casualties were 199 planes, 128 flight personnel and damage to four warships. Retribution was not long in coming. Then he returned to the Naval War College as a staff member. [27], Spruance was an active man who thought nothing of walking eight or 10 miles a day. On June 19, however, hundreds of planes from nine Japanese aircraft carriers attacked the Fifth Fleet. Although some historians and many newsmen have written many words about Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. Navy and his brilliant career in the Pacific in World War II, the complete story of this reserved and self-effacing man is now being told for the first time by one of his close friends and wartime associates. His seagoing career was extensive, including command of five destroyers and the battleship Mississippi. Commanding the battleship for nearly two years, Spruance was aboard when World War II began in Europe. Lieutenant in command of the USS Yorktown air group. Then it was back to Pebble Beach. John C. Waldron. Though this gamble paid off, Enterprise air squadrons would pay a heavy price, flying in piece-meal and mostly without fighter escort. It was interesting work, but I wouldnt want to do it for a living. In 1916 he aided in the fitting out of the battleship Pennsylvania and he served on board her from her commissioning in June 1916 until November 1917. Spruance had earned a restful retirement at his home in Pebble Beach, Calif., 125 miles south of San Francisco, with his wife, son and daughter. His new duties involved planning rather than operations, and Spruance chafed for more action. During the third week of May 1942, U.S. naval intelligence units confirmed that the Japanese wouldby early Juneinvade Midway Island. Nagumo ordered his planes rearmed on their return. Nimitz had no battleships left after the Pearl Harbor attack, and after the Battle of the Coral Sea there were only two flattops ready for action, Enterprise and Hornet. Spruance expressed his personal feelings on this matter as follows: So far as my getting five star rank is concerned, if I could have got it along with Bill Halsey, that would have been fine; but, if I had received it instead of Bill Halsey, I would have been very unhappy over it. United States Aircraft Carrier attached to Task Force 16. Towards the end of that year, Spruance commanded a cruiser division supporting Admiral Halsey's carrier, the 'Enterprise', at Wake Island. The Japanese lost 19 ships sunk, seven probably sunk and more than 200 aircraft destroyed, and their installations were bombed and strafed. On October 16, 1946, the former Secretary of War, Robert P. Patterson, presented the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Admiral Spruance, with citation as follows: Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, U.S. Navy, as Task Force Commander during the capture of the Marshall and Marianas Islands, rendered exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services from January to June 1944. Aboard the Japanese flattops, many torpedo-carrying planes were waiting for fighters to take off as the American planes dived. If this happened, it would enable the Japanese to pinch the Americans between their two carrier forces. His entry in Whos Who in America was only three lines long (including his full name), and a footnote in Morisons monumental history of the U.S. Navy in World War II testifies to his modesty. He held that post until the following February, when he was ordered back to the Naval War College at Newportthis time as president. Besides his family, he loved the companionship of his pet schnauzer, Peter. Spruance directed Operation Hailstone against the Japanese naval base Truk in February 1944 in which twelve Japanese warships, thirty-two merchant ships and 249 aircraft were destroyed. Just before the planned invasion of Midway island in June 1942, Halsey suddenly became ill with shingles. The Japanese had been battered for weeks by aerial bombardment, and knew the invasion was imminent. However, an invasion was rendered unnecessary when the atomic bomb was used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. All four of Japans aircraft carriers were sunk, devastating Japans ambitions in the Pacific. However, Spruances fleet was also charged with guarding the amphibious landings at Saipan and Tinian. Spruance was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, and in May 1943 he was promoted to vice admiral. "World War II: Admiral Raymond Spruance." [9] On the other hand, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester Nimitz knew he must intercept the Japanese invasion fleet, and that he must give battle to the enemy aircraft carriers before they could project their overwhelming power against the naval air station at Midway. >On March 29, 1944, Admiral Spruance took tactical command of a three-pronged assault against the Palau Islands, 550 miles east of the Philippines, and against Yap Island and Ulithi Atoll in the western Carolines. Hickman, Kennedy. From 1952 to 1955 Spruance served as the American ambassador to Philippines. He was appointed as Ambassador to the Philippines by President Harry S. Truman, and served there from 1952 to 1955. Hickman, Kennedy. One exception was Admiral John Towers, a constant critic of Spruance, whom Spruance came to despise for his naked ambition.[18]. The US navy ended up winning the battle and historians consider this a major turning point in the Pacific Theater during World War II. His next assignment was command of the destroyer Aaron Ward, and then USS Perceval. Raised in Indianapolis, IN, he attended school locally and graduated from Shortridge High School. Since the Japanese planes were returning from the Midway strike, Spruance ordered that his strike be launched without delay so as to maximize the chances that the Japanese carriers would be caught while landing planes or spotting the next wave. My personal congratulations. The Americans were able to count on Yorktown, however, after patching her up in an astonishing two days instead of 90 days as had been estimated. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/admiral-raymond-spruance-2360511. The Japanese had been overconfident, and the Americans taught them a bitter lesson. He decided to launch the planes from Enterprise and Hornet when they were about 175 miles from the enemys calculated position instead of postponing takeoff for another two hours in order to diminish the distance. Word of the sacrifice of VT-8 stunned the United States, and Churchill was reported to have wept when he heard about it. In the fighting, the Japanese lost three carriers and around 600 aircraft. Richmond Kelly Turner and Harry W. Hill and Marine Generals Holland M. Smith and Julian C. Smith. Provide at least two examples.Certain lessons in New Testament Survey, as well as outside sources, may be of help to you as you write your report. He was modest and candid about himself. Shortly before leaving the Naval War College and retiring from the Navy on July 1, 1948, Admiral Spruance received a letter of commendation from the secretary of the Navy that read: Your brilliant record of achievement in World War II played a decisive part in our victory in the Pacific. Spruance, Raymond A. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz,, Commander in Chief, Pacific, (right) and, Admiral Raymond Spruance, Commander, Central Pacific Force, (center) Tour Kwajalein Island, Marshalls, February 5,1944, following its capture. Pratt, F. "Spruance: Picture of the Admiral," Harpers Magazine 193, no. During the last year of World War I he was assigned as Assistant Engineer Officer of the New York Naval Shipyard, and carried out temporary duty in London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. In June 1942 the United States and Japan fought for control of Midway Island in the South Pacific. Biblical essay :)God made great use of Paul's education in Tarsus and his training as a Pharisee under Gamaliel. Admiral Halsey was given command of the Third Fleet, and later that year Task Force 58 was transferred to Halseys fleet. As Allied forces battled on the island, Spruance's ships defeated Operation Ten-Go on April 7 which saw the Japanese battleship Yamato attempt to break through to the island. A number of strategic and tactical errors contributed to the Japanese defeat: Yamamotos virtual isolation on the bridge of Yamato and his failure to maintain an overall grip on the strategic situation; a loss of nerve on the part of Nagumo; tradition that led Yamaguchi and other enemy commanders to go down with their ships instead of trying to recover the initiative; insufficient reconnaissance against the U.S. carriers; a lack of high-altitude fighter cover; inadequate fire precautions aboard the ships; and the launching of airstrikes from all four fleet carriers at the same time, so that there was a critical period when the Japanese carrier force had little defensive capability. For his actions at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, Spruance was awarded the Navy Cross. He commanded that vessel during the patrols with the Atlantic Fleet until January 1920, when he assumed command of newly commissioned destroyer USS Percival in San Francisco, California. Answer: Admiral Yamamoto had hoped to fight a classic-style sea battle with battleships, but Spruance had proved that the aircraft carrier was now emerging as the capital ship of naval combat forces. During World War II, he was commander in the . In one incident a distraught officer rushed to report, "Captain, we've just dropped a depth charge over the stern!" Biographies, 20th century collection, Navy Department Library. But they expected it to come at the obvious and exposed outer fringe, and when we struck at the heart of the archipelago with a huge fleet that had approached undetected, we enjoyed complete tactical surprise. the prospects for its inclusion in doctrine The logical starting point is Admiral Chester Nimitz's famous "letter of instruction" (actually, of course, transmitted . On November 24, Spruance relieved Nimitz as Commander, US Pacific Fleet. After six furious minutes, the three carriers were left burning. Japanese submarine I-168 torpedoes and torpedoes a damaged US aircraft carrier and its escorting destroyer. Because of gaps in the search patterns flown by the Japanese, the American carriers were able to approach unseen. The USS Enterprise ambushes and sinks the Hiryu. Japanese naval force tasked with the invasion of the Aleutian Islands under Vice Admiral Kakuta with aircraft carriers Junyo and Ryuho. He also held several engineering, intelligence, staff and Naval War College positions up to the 1940s. Admiral Raymond Spruance served in US Navy during World War Two. Moving forward in mid-1944, Spruance embarked on a campaign in the Marianas Islands. Mounting a tenacious defense, the Japanese held out for over a month. In the course of a two-hour interview, he stood or walked about all the timenot restlessly, but slowly and deliberately. At Midway, Spruances force inflicted on the Imperial Japanese Navy its worst setback in 350 years. Spruance commanded US naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific theater, the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Leaving, he assumed command of USS Mississippi. Spruance graduated from the U.S. My mind is blank. "Well, pick it up and put it back," was Spruance's measured response.[8]. The Turning Point in the Pacific. "Admiral Raymond Spruance". At 8:20 a.m., Nagumos observers reported a group of American ships 200 miles away. My mind is blank. The American toll was 1,100 dead and almost 2,300 wounded. More to his liking was the study of foreign methods of naval fire control, which took him to London and Edinburgh. Landing troops on Saipan on June 15, he defeated Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa at the Battle of the Philippine Sea a few days later. Recently promoted to rear admiral, Spruance was assigned to command a division of cruisers in the Pacific under Admiral Nimitz in 1941. Notwithstanding their different personalities, Spruance and Halsey were close friends. Was the site of a naval battle between the United States and Japan in 1942. Akagi and Kaga subsequently went down. [12] Spruance assumed command of Task Force 16 with its two carriers, USSEnterprise and USSHornet, under battle command of Admiral Frank Jack Fletcher. In the first months of World War II in the Pacific, Spruance commanded the four heavy cruisers and support ships of Cruiser Division Five from his flagship, the heavy cruiser USSNorthampton. He advanced quickly through the ranks, becoming an admiral in 1944. Spruance was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 3, 1886, to Alexander and Annie Hiss Spruance. Two years later, he aided in the fitting out of USS Pennsylvania (BB-38) then under construction in the yard. In the footnote Morison says, Admiral Spruance, in commenting on the first draft of this volume, requested that I delete victor at and substitute who commanded a carrier task force at, butI have let it stand. On April 28, the last day of the invasion, Spruances command was redesignated as the Fifth Fleet. He lived quietly at Pebble Beach until December 13, 1969, when he died of arteriosclerosis at the age of 83. With Okinawa's fall in June, Spruance rotated back to Pearl Harbor to begin planning the invasion of Japan. Yet because of his modest, retiring nature, Spruance was never a popular hero in the manner of Admirals Nimitz, William F. Halsey and Marc A. Mitscher. He took part in organising the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and led the 5th Fleet in these two final battles. Meanwhile, his search planes found no sign of any American warships. Graduating from Annapolis three years later, he served two years at sea before receiving his commission as an ensign on September 13, 1908. When I look at myself objectively, he wrote in retirement, I think that what success I may have achieved through life is largely due to the fact that I am a good judge of men. He did not discuss his private life, feelings, prejudices, hopes or fears, except perhaps with his family and his closest friends. 31, 2021, thoughtco.com/admiral-raymond-spruance-2360511. Morison said: Keeping in his mind the picture of widely disparate forces, yet boldly seizing every opening, Raymond A. Spruance emerged from this battle one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history.He was bold and aggressive when the occasion demanded offensive tactics; cautious when pushing his luck too far might have lost the fruits of victory. Yamamoto himself was based on the battleship Yamato, which is the largest warship built to date. [11] Although Spruance was proven as a cruiser division commander, he had no experience handling carrier-air combat; Halsey reassured Nimitz, and he told Spruance and Fletcher to rely on their newly inherited staff, particularly Captain Miles Browning, a battle-proven expert in carrier warfare. Admiral Raymond Spruance served in US Navy during World War Two. No matter what other people tell you, your decision was correct". Then Nagumos force was spotted by torpedo bombers from Hornets squadron VT-8, led by Lt. Cmdr. I am lazy, and I never have done things myself that I could get someone to do for me. [7], Spruance served in Washington until early 1924, when he was ordered to the headquarters, Commander Naval Force in Europe. catalogued as someone to watch; there was never any possibility that he would be passed over in the lists for promotion. Lieutenant in command of the USS Enterprise air group. Born on 3 July 1886, Spruance graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1906. Akagi was lashed by bombs, which exploded torpedoes that were being loaded onto her planes, and the crew abandoned ship. ), honoris causa degree from Central Philippine University in 1955, an institution of higher learning founded by the American Baptist missionary, William Orison Valentine in 1905. Fifteen Buffaloes and two Wildcats were lost, but the garrisons anti-aircraft fire was effective. It would become on of the last aircraft carriers to be sunk in a war in all of history during the battle of Leyte Gulf 2-3 years later. These attacks were followed by a raid against Marcus Island. Although he broke the back of the Japanese naval air force by sinking three carriers, two oilers and destroying about 600 enemy airplanes (so many that the remaining Japanese carriers were used solely as decoys in the Battle of Leyte Gulf a few months later due to the lack of aircraft and aircrews to fly them) Spruance has been criticized for not being aggressive enough in exploiting his success in the Philippine Sea. It Didnt End Well. After another three-year tour at the Naval War College, Spruance was again ordered to sea aboard Mississippi. Japanese escort carrier that was mainly responsible for launching scouts attached to Combined Fleet main body. World War II: Admiral Raymond Spruance. Fewer than two days before launch from Pearl Harbor, Nimitz's commander of the fleet carrier force, Admiral Halsey, was hospitalized with severe shingles;[10] Halsey immediately recommended Admiral Spruance to Nimitz as his replacement with Admiral Fletcher receiving overall command. With their 233 planes and crews at the ready, the three U.S. flattops were stationed well north of Midway, out of sight of enemy reconnaissance planes. He was a diligent, neat and gentle boy. They were hurled back decisively, and the losses353 enemy planes downed, 21 U.S. aircraft lostamazed the Americans. Although there are no options attached we can say the following. It is still the largest warship built to date and survived the battle undamaged as it never came near the battlefield despite Yamamoto's protests. B. Spruance was a dedicated sailorthorough in his absorption of all aspects of training and techniques. This gave rise to the description of Spruance as "an Admiral's admiral". On February 19, American forces landed and opened the Battle of Iwo Jima. He managed to gain an appointment from Indiana to the U.S. Clarence McClusky, swooped from 19,000 feet onto Nagumos ships. In 1939 he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral. Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat fighters, Douglas SBD-3 Dauntless dive bombers and Douglas TBD-1 Devastator torpedo bombers thundered off the flight decks and rose to search for the enemy carriers. Enterprise dive bombers critically damaged two Japanese carriers including Nagumo's flagship Akagi; while the Yorktown air group, launched after Fletcher was confident that all Japanese carriers were accounted for, crippled the Soryu. He organized the Japanese counterattack on the American carriers and is credited with the sinking of the USS Yorktown, the only American Carrier sunk at Midway. United States Rear Admiral in command of Task Force 17 on the USS Yorktown. Spruance's achievements were acknowledged by the unique distinction of a special act of Congress awarding him Admiral's full pay for life. Spruance also held several engineering . The first Japanese airstrike was followed by another. A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Spruance commanded cruisers during the early months of the conflict and first came to prominence for helping lead American forces to victory at the pivotal Battle of Midway in June 1942. Locating the Japanese carriers as they were rearming and refueling their aircraft, American bombers inflicted massive damage and sank three. History is a guide to navigation in perilous times. Most historians consider Midway the turning point of the Pacific War.[1]. His work would bring him a gold star in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal. He was then 55. The Americans were gravely outnumbered by the lurking enemy armada. 7 reviews. It was a cool, clear day. Fletcher quickly ordered his dive bombers to strike, which fatally damaged the fourth Japanese carrier; it was scuttled the next day. He shifted his flag to the old battleship USSNew Mexico of the shore bombardment force after Indianapolis was struck by a Kamikaze off Okinawa. Spruance became a shadowy sort of legend in the Navy. Admiral Yamaguchi and the Hiryu's captain decide to stay aboard the ship. Yorktown and Task Force 17 were under the command of Rear Adm. Frank Jack Fletcher. Admiral Spruance was buried with full honors alongside Admirals Nimitz and Kelly Turner in a military cemetery overlooking San Francisco Bay. He never smoked and drank little. This saw him win a victory at Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944 as part of the Allied "island-hopping" campaign across the Pacific. British Royal Navy units helped support the landings. Both commanders hoped for a classic battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy, but only Mitschers carrier planes were able to reach the enemy. Summing up his appraisal of this outstanding sailor, Morison noted: Spruance in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, overriding Mitscher the carrier expert in letting the enemy planes come at him instead of going in search of them, won the second most decisive battle of the Pacific war. Yamato class battleship that served as the Japanese Combined Fleet's Flagship, housing Admiral Yamamoto. A bust of Spruance is in the lobby. Though the fourth, Hiryu, managed to launch bombers which caused critical damage to Yorktown, it too was sunk when American aircraft returned later in the day. The defenders fought fiercely but were unable to inflict any damage on the U.S. vessels. The son of Alexander and Annie Spruance, Raymond Ames Spruance was born at Baltimore, MD on July 3, 1886. The Fifth Fleet commanders citation read: Responsible for the operation of a vast and complicated organization which included more than 500,000 men of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, 318 combatant vessels and 1,139 auxiliary vessels, [he] directed the forces under his command with daring, courage and aggressiveness. Spruance's rise to fame . He wrote the day after the attack and the same day he attended funeral services for the 54 Sailors and Marines killed in the attack. Whether they produced battlefield images of the dead or daguerreotype portraits of common soldiers, []. Japanese fleet in charge of landing army units on Midway. Falling ill with shingles, Halsey recommended that Spruance lead Task Force 16, centered on the carriers USS Enterprise (CV-6) and USS Hornet (CV-8), in his stead. Naval Academy in 1906,[5] and received further, hands-on education in electrical engineering a few years later. . He served as an instructor at the Naval War College from 1935 to 1938. Shortly before his retirement, Spruance received the following Letter of Commendation from the Secretary of the Navy: Your brilliant record of achievement in World War II played a decisive part in our victory in the Pacific. His air group is credited with the sinking of 4 Japanese aircraft carriers during Midway. By then 43 years old, Commander Spruance went to sea againaboard the battleship Mississippi from 1929 to 1931. This site is using cookies under cookie policy . northwestward of Midway. He commanded the battleship USS Mississippi from April 1938 to December 1939, when he was promoted to rear admiral. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, is named Spruance Hall. B. Jim Crow Laws There are submarines, there are mini-submarines, and then there are human torpedoes. In this position, he traveled to London and Edinburgh. The young, ambitious officer was then assigned to Bainbridge, U.S. destroyer No. Launched the planes that were responsible for the sinking of nearly all 4 Japanese Carriers at Midway. During the Midway engagement which resulted in the defeat of and heavy losses to the enemy fleet, his seamanship, endurance, and tenacity in handling his task force were of the highest quality. While screening the American invasion of Saipan in June 1944, Spruance defeated the Japanese fleet in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Japanese Admiral and a pioneer in aircraft carrier warfare. He was the grandfather of legendary theatre director Anne Bogart. In August 1943 Spruance was placed in command of the Central Pacific Force, which, on April 29, 1944, was redesignated as the Fifth Fleet. He remained in the position only briefly as he accepted a posting as President of the Naval War College on February 1, 1946. This time we were right because the enemy did what we expected him to do. US Naval Task Force under Frank Fletcher with aircraft carrier Yorktown. At Midway, dive bombers from the Enterprise crippled sank four larger carriers of the Imperial Japanese Navy. D. The Pope lived in Constantinople. They met practically no opposition because most of the Zeros were still close to the water, not having had time to climb and counterattack. This was in July 1938, and this time he was the battleships commander. The battle commenced on the morning of June4; the first several waves of U.S. attack aircraft were badly beaten, both near Midway and at sea around the Japanese task force. Then Nagumo was dumbfounded to receive a search planes report of 10 enemy ships to the northeast, where no U.S. ships were supposed to be. It faced a Japanese invasion fleet organized into two groups: the air-attack task force of four carriers with support ships under command of Admiral Chichi Nagumo, and the surface and occupation forces under Admiral Nobutake Kond and others. The main auditorium of the U.S. He never smoked, and drank little. Serving in Manila, Spruance remained abroad until resigning his post in 1955. Halsey was aggressive and a risk taker. The enemy units were forced to withdraw their battered aircraft carrier Shokaku, while the Americans had to abandon the old, cherished carrier Lexington. Historian Samuel Eliot Morison believed he was one of the greatest fighting and thinking admirals in American naval history. He enjoyed hot chocolate and would make it for himself every morning. In July 1941, his responsibilities were expanded to include oversight of the Caribbean Sea Frontier. The slow-moving Devastators were easy targets for the Japanese gunners and Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighters, and all 15 were shot down. [6], Following his return to the United States, Spruance served aboard transport ship USS Agamemnon, before he was ordered to Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine, for duty in connection with fitting out of destroyer USS Aaron Ward in March 1919. When New Mexico was struck by two kamikaze on the night of 12 May 1945 a hasty search by Spruance's staff found the Admiral manning a fire hose amidship. Captain George C. Dyer of the light cruiser Astoria, who served under both Spruance and Halsey, summed up the view of many ship captains: My feeling was one of confidence when Spruance was there. After working to defend neutral American shipping from German U-boats, Spruance received orders to take over Cruiser Division Five in September 1941. Successfully concluding operations, Spruance was promoted to admiral in February. I can thank heredity for a sound constitution, and myself for taking care of that constitution. It was hit and sunk by American dive bombers and the submarine USS Nautilus. When you moved into Admiral Spruance's command, the printed instructions were up to date, and you did things in accordance with them.[19]. Kennedy Hickman is a historian, museum director, and curator who specializes in military and naval history. In May 1942, intelligence suggested that the Japanese were planning on assaulting Midway Island. I was shanghaied ashore in November of the next year to take over as electrical superintendent at the New York Navy Yard, said Spruance. "When I look at myself objectively," he wrote in retirement, "I think that what success I may have achieved through life is largely due to the fact that I am a good judge of men. The US intelligence services could predict the way the Japanese carriers and planes would be approaching the battle. He attended grade and high schools in East Orange, N.J., and in Indianapolis. Besides his family, he loved the companionship of his pet schnauzer, Peter. 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