book report: Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas

i volunteered to return my kids' books to the library, without their company which meant i had time to browse through the "new arrivals" section. i just wanted to see if their was anything interesting out. as always there was. i haven't read much lately as my Bible reading plan. entire Bible every 3 months, leaves little time for other books. so why am i writing a book report. i found time. i didn't pick up the 600 page book on the crusades. i made a 360 page choice. Sea of Thunder by Evan Thomas appealed to me as the Pacific Theater in WW2 is not something i'm well read in. The sub-title that increased my interest is Four Commanders and the Last Great Naval Campaign 1941-1945. The best represented commander is the American "Bull" Halsey, followed by Matome Ugaki, then Takeo Kurita, then Ernest Evans (no relation to author). In fact Ernest Evans is so inadequately presented that i didn't make the connection with his reappearance at the end of the book as he sacrificed his ship to protect his fleet from Kurita and Ugaki. "Bull" Halsey is well represented because he came home a hero from his command at Guadalcanal and received great press despite his failure at the battle of Leyte Gulf. There are abundant sources on Halsey. He died near my home, a few miles offshore, at his summer home on Fishers Island, NY. Admiral Ugaki left an extensive diary during his command. He actually trained Kamikaze pilots after the Japanese navy was destroyed. After Emporer Hirohito surrendered, Ugaki participated in the last kamikaze attack. Hence, he was unable to edit, redact or censor his diary. Kurita, the humanitarian, survived the war by obeying a telegram in mid-battle that perhaps never existed in order to save his fleet from further destruction in the gulf. Evans, a Cherokee Indian and a graduate from the US Naval Academy, attacked Kurita's fleet in a thin skinned light destroyer. Kurita's battleship was the largest ever made. It alone weighed more than all of the fleet challenging it. Yet Evans had torpedos to launch but had to evade the massive shells from the battleship. Evans' ship was so thin that Japanese shells would puncture it through both sides, not having enough steel to trigger an explosion. on the other hand, Evans' shells would only bounce off Kurita's ship, but could do some damage top-side. Evans inspired the other USN commanders to attack and get so close that the Japanese could not even lower their guns enough to shoot at them. Eventually, the US defenders were at the Japanese's mercy until Kurita suddenly called off his fleet. For some reason, US sailors who were left in the water were not recovered for 3 days left to dessicate, sunburn, go mad, and feed sharks. Finally they were rescued and commended for their success despite overwhelming odds.
Unfortunately, Bull Halsey couldn't stand by waiting for threats and chased a Japanese diversionary force, and completely missed the battle.
Communication break-downs had tremendous influence on these battles as well as ego and courage and weather.
The book is a good read and reminds this believer of the verse in Proverbs. "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD." 21:31 (NIV)