“Triumph of U.S. Navy Night Fighting”
(See T. Hone, pp. 52-59, October 2006 Naval History)
Captain Stephen F. Davis Jr., U.S. Navy
Mr. Hone has done a great service by reminding us of the tactical significance of the Leyte campaign in 1944. His article captures complicated details and reinforces the need for operators to think and act creatively in the face of a determined enemy. It is worth noting, however, that Surigao was not the first success for the U.S. Navy when fighting at night with early versions of radar.
In August 1943—more than a year before the engagements off Leyte and Samar—six destroyers under Commander Frederick Moosbrugger engaged and sank four Japanese destroyers in a night fight that featured the first use of radar and rudimentary combat information centers in combat. The Battle of Vella Gulf in the northern Solomon Islands was a stunning U.S. victory at a time when Allied naval victories were few and far between.
Commander Moosbrugger and his commanding officers ignored conventional wisdom and tactical doctrine by engaging the Japanese destroyers first with torpedoes and then with guns, having recognized that gun flashes allowed the enemy a quick means to range in his weapons. Vella Gulf was also the first battle where destroyers were used independently and not merely to provide an antisubmarine screen for cruisers and battleships (many of which had been sunk or damaged during bitter campaigning off Guadalcanal). The lessons from the Battle of Vella Gulf set the stage for bigger victories over the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1944 and 1945.
Captain Davis is commanding officer of the USS Vella Gulf (CG-72).
“A Short & Savage Ambush”
(See I. Travnicek, pp. 25-27, October 2006 Naval History)
Captain Richard A. Stratton, U. S. Navy (Retired)
Mr. Travnicek describes the Vietcong as “communist insurgents . . . who in reality were fighting to reunite the divided country under a communist government.” It is a shame to see a historical magazine perpetuating the communist “reunification” myth. I heard this party line for six years in a Hanoi jail but never thought I would see it stated as fact in my own professional publication. Such an allegation taints the Game Wardens’ sacrifices and heroism.
At no time in history was Vietnam one country (except in communist propaganda) until 1975 when we reneged on our promises to support the Republic of Vietnam. The territory in question consisted of never less than two parts (under successive Chinese occupations), more often than not, three parts (under the French), and sometimes even more fragmented under indigenous warring factions.
The post-Vietnam War writings of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam leadership confirmed facts already known to history: Ho Chi Minh on his return to Vietnam in the 1940s killed off the indigenous Communist Party, left his own communist cohorts (Vietcong) embedded in the Republic of Vietnam after the French withdrawal, orchestrated the Vietcong uprising in the late 1950s, and infiltrated regular North Vietnamese Army support elements into the Republic of Vietnam from 1959 to 1968. The North Vietnamese regular forces assumed full control of the insurgency after we destroyed the Vietcong infrastructure during the Tet uprising.
Captain Stratton was released by North Vietnam on 4 March 1973 after 2,251 days of captivity.
“Destroyers at Tokyo Bay”
(See D. W. McComb, pp. 32-36, February; L. Lavrakas, p. 6, August 2006 Naval History)
Don Gleason
Captain Lavrakas’ letter reminded me of an experience I had with one very special APD, the USS Gosselin (APD-126). The date was August 1945. My ship, the USS Catamount (LSD-17), was leaving Samar in the Philippines. We were told to return to Guam for special duty assignment—special cargo—a tooled leather saddle [courtesy of the Reno, Nevada, Chamber of Commerce] to be delivered to Admiral William F. Halsey.
Early in the war when the future looked so desperate for the United States, the enemy announced they would sit in the White House and accept our surrender. The admiral struck back, declaring that he would ride the emperor’s white horse down the main street of Tokyo with a Western saddle underneath him.
The Catamount joined Task Force 31 somewhere off the coast of Japan and transferred the saddle to the Gosselin. Photographs of the event show the high seas with the ships about 50 feet apart. The saddle was to be delivered to the USS Missouri (BB-63). Our two ships would meet again on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay and witness the end to World War II.
“The Essential Naval History Film Library”
(See E. Mills, pp. 40-47, October 2006 Naval History)
Thomas K. Tate
This article brought to mind the first time I saw Das Boot. It was playing in an arts cinema in Allentown, Pennsylvania, one summer evening. I chose to attend the first showing and, when it was over, it was raining cats and dogs. I decided to go back and watch the movie again until it stopped raining.
Some 20 minutes later I again went to leave only to find it raining just as hard as before with water coming into the lobby from the rain-swollen street outside. Again I went back and continued watching the movie for the second time. Later, I got up once more. It was still raining as hard as ever and, by this time, the water was well inside the lobby and nearly to the curtained doors of the theater itself. Again I returned to my seat. Other patrons were growing anxious and opening exits that led to a narrow alley outside, only to find that passageway flooded and rain pouring down in torrents.
Just about the time the characters in the film were stranded on the ocean bottom, I saw a stream of water running down the aisle of the theater. Before long the water cascaded into the theater’s basement threatening the electric wiring. Apologizing, the manager said he had to stop the film for the safety of the patrons, but we could remain in the darkened theater until the rain let up.
This was my only experience with “aquavision,” but seeing a submarine movie in a flooded theater added a certain something extra to the viewing. Since then I’ve always wanted to see Run Silent, Run Deep during a severe thunderstorm.
Allan Ames
I enjoyed the reviews and have several of these discs and might buy some others based on Mr. Mills’ article. My concerns, however, are for those films that are disappearing because of lack of interest or incentive on the studios’ part in making them available. Two titles I would like to see are The Helldivers (1932) and Dive Bomber (1941). Both are passable as stories and employ big name stars, (Clark Gable and Errol Flynn, among them).
As historical documents of naval air in the period leading up to World War II, they are of some importance and should be saved. Dive Bomber was issued on VHS in the 1980s, but the tape is no longer available, and the movie was never issued on DVD. The Helldivers was never issued in any video format and is going to be lost for good if something isn’t done.
Does the Naval Institute or Mr. Mills have the clout to approach the studios to see if something can be done to save these films of early naval air? I hope so, and I hope you will.
Margaret B. Rafferty
I’m sure most people said, “I can’t believe they left out (insert favorite naval movie here),” when reading your choices for best naval films. I will be no exception. I can’t believe you left out The Enemy Below, just about the greatest World War II flick ever. Robert Mitchum and Kurt Jurgens are superb as the opposing commanders, and in my view, their characters acted in the calm, professional manner I ardently hope all commanders act in similar situations. For us civilians, it is an eye-opening glance into the environments of submarines and destroyers at war.
I do agree with your choices, though (especially the Hornblower series—you were right-on with that review), and will strive to see the only two I have missed (Victory at Sea,and Damn the Defiant). Thanks for the great list!
Captain David L. Woods, U.S. Navy Reserve (Retired)
Six out of seven is pretty good.
While I question the fairness of terming the monumental Victory At Sea and the brilliant Hornblower collection as single naval classics, I quarrel seriously with only one Mills choice—the beloved Mr. Roberts. Book, unique! Play, classic! But film, mediocre. Why?
The book, Mr. Roberts, was written by Thomas Heggen as a riotous collection of short stories—somewhat akin to James Michener’s Tales of the South Pacific. Neither book was a true novel. In the Heggen book, the USS Reluctant has an executive officer as well as a cargo officer, and more CPOs are on board than just the classic Chief Dowdy. But before these short stories became a play, Joshua Logan entered as coauthor, replacing Max Shulman. Without Josh Logan, there would never have been the play, Mr. Roberts. The play so many know and love emerged under Logan’s direction as rewritten by him and the younger Heggen. Nine years after the Roberts film, Logan produced and directed a sequel, Ensign Pulver (without any Roberts stars), which Logan and Heggen again coauthored. It is highly significant that the talented Leland Hayward produced both the play and film, and Logan was also coproducer of the Roberts play.
As Mills describes the film, we recall fondly Henry Fonda, James Cagney, William Powell, and Jack Lemmon in the four primary officer roles. But what of the crew? The real heart of the book and play is the crew’s futile battle against its tyrannical captain. Yet somehow the crew became lost.
Part of this may be because of the enormous acting talent of James Cagney. While playing an obvious villain, Cagney’s natural charm gained sympathy from the audience. Cagney’s captain is more like Fagan in Oliver Twist, rather than arch villain Bill Sykes.
John Ford has humor in virtually all his films—but it is the gentle Irish humor of Victor McLaglen or Barry Fitzgerald. The humor of Mr. Roberts’ crew, at least in the play, is based more on the harsher Italian, Jewish humor of New York City. Strong disagreements between Fonda and Ford were reported during the shooting of this film. Ford became ill and was replaced by Mervyn LeRoy. The old adage of too many cooks seems to apply.
Fonda and Logan had even stronger disagreements before the film began, according to Logan’s autobiography. Fonda was on the West Coast with the stage road company. Logan came to check on the tour. To him, the play seemed “smug and pompous.” Logan tried to bring back some of the wild comedy. He called Fonda the night before the Los Angeles opening to apologize for not finishing his directorial revisions.
Fonda said: “Thank God for that.” Logan was amazed: “Didn’t you want me to bring it back to its original spirit?” “No,” Fonda said, “I don’t feel it’s my play anymore.”
Logan replied: “No, you son of a bitch, but its mine!”
The next day Fonda stormed into producer Hayward’s room and shouted: “If that god-damned Logan directs the picture, I won’t play in it.” As Mills notes, Fonda had played the role at least 1,300 times on stage. He won a Tony, but there is no doubt the original spirit of the Broadway play was never in the film. A revival of the play last year at the Kennedy Center, with a cast of unknowns, recaptured that spirit.
So while I rank the play Mr. Roberts as perhaps the finest naval play of all time, I suggest that Mills’ seven top choices be filled out with the British World War II film of Nicholas Montsarrat’s novel, The Cruel Sea. Anyone who has served afloat, particularly on board a small ship, will know why. Sadly, I am unaware of a DVD version of this classic. Perhaps that is why Mills left it out. But Jack Hawkins’ performance as commanding officer of two British warships seems to me the most memorable of any actor’s on film. The Cruel Sea has a further advantage in that its Royal Navy technical advisor is none other than Captain Jack Broome, author of those wonderful books—Make A Signal, Make Another Signal, and Convey is to Scatter.
At 74, Captain Woods is an adjunct professor in a special program for the National Guard at Marshall University. His most popular class is “The Development & Appreciation of Film Since 1930.”
Eric Mills responds:
Heartfelt thanks for all of the feedback to our suggested “essential” list. Our intention was not to compile a database of every good naval movie, but to offer a suggested list of core DVD selections with which to start a naval-movie collection and from which to expand. The requisites for inclusion were twofold: The film had to be available on DVD, and a movie classic as well as of interest to the naval history enthusiast.
With space at a premium, our list, had to be highly selective—again, a starting-point for building a collection, not an exhaustive list. There are many fine seafaring flicks that we own on DVD and enjoy having that still didn’t make this essential list. Examples would include The Sand Pebbles, which, despite its narrative gaps and deadend subplots, we value for its detailed recreation of a colorful U.S. Navy era rarely depicted and for a great gunboat shootout scene toward the end of the picture; and The Enemy Below, which boasts consummate acting and high-seas suspense. Both these films are available in nice DVD editions and are worth a naval-movie buff’s purchase, even though they didn't make our final cut.
Many who wrote mentioned (and rightfully so) The Cruel Sea, one of the best naval movies of all time. At press time for our article, it was available only on the U.S. DVD market as part of a "British War Classics” boxed set. Though long available as a stand-alone DVD purchase in Region 2 (Europe, Asia), we Cruel Sea fans in Region 1 (USA, Canada) have been left in the lurch unless we wanted to shell out $60- plus for a hit-and-miss boxed set. But we have great news to report: It has been announced that The Cruel Sea is being released as a stand-alone DVD in the United States on 17 October 2006. While we cannot rate the DVD quality at press time, the movie itself is a four-star naval classic and certainly belongs in the pantheon of a collector’s library essentials.
Another announcement was made since the article appeared: The 1962 version of Mutiny on the Bounty is slated for an 11 November 2006, DVD release, and it’s getting the full-blown special-edition treatment. (And yes, regardless of Marlon Brando's wacko faux-English accent, we’ll be grabbing our copy the day it comes out.) On a related note, one letter writer seemed to suggest that all of the Bounty movies have been based on the Charles Nordhoff and James Hall novel; 1984’s The Bounty (starring Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins) is based on Richard Hough’s nonfiction account, Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian: The Men and the Mutiny.
“Historic Fleets”
(See A. D. Baker III, pp. 12-13, August 2006 Naval History)
Larry Coy
I enjoyed reading about the Long Beach (CGN-9). I served on board her from August 1966 through May 1968 as a journalist third class in the public affairs office. In that capacity I wrote numerous press releases, including one that was classified, ironically, top secret. I wrote it just weeks before I left the ship in the Tonkin Gulf for Treasure Island and returned to civilian life. The press release was sent to commander Seventh Fleet and possibly commander, Cruisers Destroyers Pacific and detailed the destruction of a North Vietnamese MiG aircraft using Talos missiles. Adding to the irony was the fact that I had only a confidential clearance.
Mr. Baker’s article noted that this action occurred during the Long Beach’s third deployment. I can state that this action took place one to two months into our second deployment.
A full six months after my discharge I happened to see a one-inch filler article in the San Jose Mercury News that noted “A[tomic]-Ship Shoots Down North Vietnamese Plane.” My three- or four- page release had been edited down considerably.
The public affairs officer (and my boss) on board the Long Beach, for the cruiser’s first deployment and possibly part of her second, was Ensign and later Lieutenant (junior grade) Thomas J. Mosser. He later became one of the Unabomber’s three victims who died.
“Waging War with Cardboard Navies”
(See J. Prados, pp. 34-39, August 2006 Naval History)
Staff Sergeant John Pauly, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve
My experience matches that of the author pretty closely. I think I bought Avalon Hill’s D-D ay as my first game. (I was never able to win as the German player.) My next game was Jutland, followed by Bismarck and then the S&T games series. About two years ago I started playing war games after a 20-year hiatus. My nephew started playing them after getting Axis and Allies. I prefer board to computer games.
My beef with war-game designers is that no commander knows exactly where every enemy unit is, they don’t take morale into account, and it often takes longer to read the rules and set up the game than to fight the battle.
An excellent small board game on the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie is called Don’t Give Up the Ship. I purchased a copy at Old Fort Niagara, in Youngstown, New York. It is an excellent example of a good naval war game from a small-game designer. It’s small enough to be played in an evening.