Guadalcanal 72 Years On

[kham]

The aftermath was sadly predictable, for applying late-20th century bullshit asskissery to things. Hoover, a 2-time winner of the Navy Cross was essentially cashiered for following orders. No stopping while under submarine attack had been SOP for years, but the public loss of the Sullivan brothers was an overblown tragedy. So someone had to be blamed. The fact that this was done hastily should have set off warnings, especially with some of the characters involved. Halsey reversed his position later, and Nimitz never endorsed things at all,but King being a fucking scumbag, and the push to sweep things under the carpet prevailed. Especially with SWPAC utterly fucked things up. Remember that plane? B-17 who took the message and relayed it dutifully AFTER he landed....As it turned out, he flew the same route daily, he noticed the steadily dwindling number of survivors NOT being rescued. Out of over 100 initial survivors, 10 men were rescued. The Sullivans? 2 died shipboard. 2 died in the water. 1 may have survived the sinking but died soon after. Not exactly stuff for the movies

The 14-15 November period was spent with both sides repositioning, Kirishima hooking up with a new task group, and Halsey releasing his BBs from carrier-escort duties. The time was now for Washington to take her place in Naval History...