“That last step is a doozy,” said a voice that clearly sounded amused, and Oatmire looked up to see a naval officer reaching down to assist him with getting upright again.
“Let me help you with that, sir,” a sailor announced, and Oatmire felt himself being relieved of the weighty seabag. He lurched sideways as he adjusted to not being weighed down.
Oatmire regained his balance and found himself looking into the smiling face of a lieutenant commander. The man was about average height and build, with what seemed to be a friendly disposition.
“I’m Tom O’Connell,” the lieutenant commander announced, extending a hand that Oatmire shook. Oatmire understood that it was a rank equivalent to an army major, which meant that O’Connell technically outranked him. “Welcome aboard.”
Oatmire couldn’t help but grin back. “So you’re going to be my babysitter, sir?”
O’Connell laughed. “If you want to call it that. Officially, I’ve been assigned to be your liaison, mainly because they don’t know what else to do with me. The ship I was on got sunk by the Japanese back at Ironbottom Sound, and they put me aboard this carrier. They already have a full complement of officers, so I end up with a lot of ‘and other duties as assigned’ by the captain. No need to call me ‘sir,’ by the way — I’m just here as your tour guide.”
It was an honest and straightforward introduction. Oatmire couldn’t help but smile again. “I’ve got to say, that sounds a lot like my job back at HQ, which is probably why I got sent out here.”
“Why exactly are you here?” O’Connell was friendly enough, but Oatmire noticed that the naval officer had quick, intelligent eyes. Maybe his lack of other duties wasn’t the only reason he had been assigned to chaperone an army officer. Like most career officers, he was probably an Annapolis graduate. Not much would get past him.
At any rate, it was a fair question to ask why he was on board. “I’m a liaison. General MacArthur wanted to promote interservice—”
O’Connell cut him off, looking amused. “Liaison, huh? You mean you were sent here to spy on us. In that case, let me show you around. We’re not as big as the Indianapolis or even the Nashville that you just came from, but there’s still plenty to see.”
Oatmire didn’t bother to argue about being called a spy. He still wasn’t entirely sure why he was there or what he was looking for, but he thought that he would know it when he saw it.
“I’d appreciate a tour,” Oatmire agreed. “As long as it doesn’t involve climbing any other ladders.”
“Don’t worry. Coming up the side of that ship was the most excitement you’re likely to see. The Seventh Fleet is strictly supply and logistics. If you wanted to see some action, you should have gotten yourself sent out to Halsey’s Third Fleet.” O’Connell waved a hand to indicate the ocean beyond. “They’re at least sixty miles out. They’re the ones who are tangling with the Japanese right about now.”
“Quiet is fine by me,” Oatmire said. He took a step, realizing that his legs still felt rubbery after the climb up the ship’s ladder. He took another step and staggered.
O’Connell moved to steady him. “You know what? There’s officially no booze allowed on board, but the officers do keep a little scotch on hand for medicinal purposes. I’d say you could use a drink.”
“I think I could use a drink — strictly for medicinal purposes,” Oatmire said.
“That’s the spirit,” O’Connell said. “Right this way.”
“I have to admit that I’m suddenly liking the navy a lot more than I did a minute ago.”
CHAPTER TEN
At that moment, little did Oatmire or anyone else aboard USS Kalinin Bay know that the Japanese were about to launch a vast and desperate gambit to crush the American landing efforts at Leyte. Events being set in motion would result in the largest sea battle in history.
The Japanese effort spanned vast distances across the Pacific, putting at risk almost all that was left of their navy. But as with so many gambles in military history, with the risk went tremendous potential rewards.
Oatmire, O’Connell, and USS Kalinin Bay would find themselves in the middle of it.
By that point in 1944, the Japanese fleet had been decimated by losses at Midway, the Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz, and the Philippine Sea — where it had lost nearly four hundred aircraft. Those pilots and aircrew, not to mention the planes, could not be replaced.
Meanwhile, American production prowess had geared up almost faster than the United States could have hoped for, producing new aircraft and ships at an astonishing rate. The growth of the United States Navy was almost exponential.
The Japanese built excellent aircraft and ships but could not replace the huge numbers that had gone down in flames. At that point Japan was losing the war, but it had not yet lost.
There were still Japanese planes, but the overall loss of Japanese aircraft leading up to the Philippines campaign was devastating.
Although their numbers of seaborne aircraft were greatly diminished, their navy remained relatively strong. They still possessed large numbers of submarines, heavy cruisers, and battleships — including two of the most formidable ships in the world.
It hardly required a military expert to see that the odds were not in Japan’s favor. The chief factor was aircraft. Admiral Yamamoto had been visionary at the outset of the war in understanding the value of aircraft carriers and aircraft as the path toward winning the war of the future. When the battlefield was mainly composed of islands and the vast Pacific itself, these resources were vital.
Their other great weakness was that, simply put, they were running out of the oil they needed to fuel their ships. Oil flowed from their oil fields around Indonesia to Japan itself. The loss of the Philippines would cut that off, creating the nautical supply route equivalent of a vasectomy. Put in those terms, there wasn’t a man who didn’t flinch at the thought.
As the Japanese high command saw it, the best way to crush and thwart the invasion of the Philippines might be to smash the invasion fleet that provided the supply and logistics support.
Although it might seem obvious to an armchair admiral, the Japanese had not previously used this strategy of targeting the logistical apparatus of the invasion forces. With a little luck, the Emperor’s ships might even be able to get in close enough to unleash their massive guns on the American troops on shore.
To that end, the Japanese developed a simple but devious plan to fool the Americans.
Most of Japan’s remaining aircraft carriers had been recalled to Japan itself for refitting. The bulk of Japan’s remaining naval power, including the massive battleships Yamato and Musashi, were in the vicinity of Singapore.
Under October skies, the Japanese carrier fleet set sail from Japan on a path toward the Philippines. US Navy submarines quickly detected the movement and relayed the information. This information caused a great deal of excitement in American quarters.
US Navy forces around the Philippines consisted of the Seventh Fleet, composed mainly of older vessels. Their task was to provide logistical support for the US Army landing forces on Leyte. Consequently, these ships were operating closer to shore. The USS Kalinin Bay that Oatmire found himself aboard with Lieutenant Commander O’Connell was part of this Seventh Fleet force.