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April 1920—Marine General John A. Lejeune wrote that—as Edward L. Beach's roommate at the U.S. Naval Academy and his pen pal for 40 years thereafter—he had never had a cross word with Beach, whose “Manila Bay in 1898” may explain why. Captain Beach’s sunny disposition—cruelly tested when monstrous waves irretrievably beached his cruiser Memphis (and his career) at Santo Domingo in 1916—serves him and his readers well as he recalls how the Battle of Manila Bay looked from his perspective as honcho of the cruiser Baltimore's starboard engine. Drawing on his journals and letters home, he shares only those things he saw and felt at the time. He saw pain in the chaplain’s eyes when, to clear the ship for action, Beach heaved the padre’s pulpit overboard. And, befitting his standing as 30th in the 35-man Class of 1888, he was surprised to learn that Manila was spelled with but one “1.” During the turkey shoot that sent all 11 ships of the Spanish squadron to the bottom, he says that all he saw of the battle—as he peered upward through the gratings of the engine room hatch—were the soles of Ensign Irwin’s shoes.
Midway through the article he wryly confides, “But I must proceed with my tale of inconsequential happenings. The unimportant things that occurred at Manila have been too long neglected.” Whatever else this admirable article is, it is a long-overdue tribute to all those “heroes” who ever participated in momentous military engagements but—as they modestly keep insisting—really didn’t do much.
April 1940—If Admiral Bacon was a Brit in a bit of a snit last month over Franklin Percival’s criticism of Bacon’s mentor, Jacky Fisher, he is likely to be apoplectic over Percival’s latest essay, which this month wins Percival his third Gold Medal in the Institute’s Prize Essay Contest. In “A Threat and an Opportunity,” Percival continues to chide Fisher gently, but his message to England boils down to this: If Brittania is to continue to rule the waves, she must waive the rules that no longer apply. Speed and armor are out; stealth—submarines, mines, torpedo craft (all originated and first employed in war by America)—is in. While praising Great Britain for her pioneer antisubmarine, antiaircraft, and research-and-development efforts, he reminds the British that, “Whenever they have pushed this work, they have gotten excellent results; whenever they have neglected it, they have had to pay dearly.”
The United States will pay dearly, too, he warns, unless it builds a two- ocean navy that recognizes—as Japan seems to—the ascendancy of aircraft and their carriers. But isn’t Pearl Harbor beyond the range of the Japanese carriers? Perhaps the most portentious sentence of his essay is, “Japan has not been building 20-knot tankers purely as a commercial venture.”
April 1960—Twenty years after Percival wrote the last of his three Gold Medal-winning essays, Captain Carl H. Amme wins with the first of his four prize essays. Probably unknowingly, Amme builds on a minor point made by Percival: Horatio Nelson knew exactly the odds he faced when he saw ten three-deckers and four frigates approaching. But when his 20th century counterpart steams into a minefield or an area in which submarines are known to be operating, he can neither weigh the risks nor foretell when he will be attacked. Amme addresses such disquieting imponderables in “Psychological Effects of Nuclear Weapons.”
Amme’s America has a new enemy, a new weapon, and a host of new questions—like how, when, where and whether we will ever again use our doomsday devices. And while we’re agonizing, our enemy is proselytizing, telling jittery Europeans, “America isn’t going to wage nuclear war in the deserts of Arabia, the pampas of Argentina, or even in our Siberian taiga; World War III will be fought where I and II were: in Europe.”
Or words to that effect. Nice job, Carl.
Clay Barrow
10
will be open to all interested participants. We encourage you to register early, especially for those persons who wish to attend our Thursday evening banquet and Friday’s luncheon with guest speaker Admiral Paul A. Yost, U.S. Coast Guard Commandant. Space for these meals is limited. Again, our Customer Service line is handling all registrations, Monday-Friday, 0800-1600. See our ad on page 13.
At the same time as our Annual Meeting, many of our Texas and other Southwestern members might wish to consider attending our cosponsored event with the Admiral Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas. “Cactus Remembered: The Air War for Guadalcanal” will launch and fly on 20-22 April and feature the Naval Institute’s Paul Stillwell, Editor- in-Chief of Naval History magazine and Director of Oral History. Representatives from all of the armed services as well as Japanese pilots engaged in the Cactus campaign will be in the program. Aircraft of most types that served at Guadalcanal from both sides will be on a static display with an anticipated fly over of the museum on Sunday. See our ad on page 61 .
The last seminar for the spring is set for 10-11 May in Pensacola, Florida, at the Naval Aviation Museum. “Carrier Aviation: Past, Present, and Future” brings more than 3,500 aviation enthusiasts together at the Pensacola Civic Center. Cosponsored with the Naval Aviation Foundation, this seminar promises to be the biggest event of the year. This year, our distinguished author Stephen Coonts (Flight of the Intruder) will be present to sign books. Noted artist R. G. Smith also will be in attendance and available to sign prints. See our ad on page 39 for more details.
This fall, we plan to return to the San Diego area; look for updates in future issues of Proceedings. Please note that transcripts of all the seminars are available. They can be ordered along with any book or print.
Congratulations To Our 25-Year Members!
This year marks the 25th anniversary for U.S. Naval Institute members who , joined in 1965. In commemoration, we have mailed handsome silver-embossed j certificates to the 475 members who qualified. Our special thanks to you for your loyal and continuous support of the Naval Institute. We look forward to serving you in the years ahead!
Proceedings / April 199*