James D. Hornfischer (1965–2021)

The Marines get all the credit for Guadalcanal, but the campaign shaped the United States Navy as well. The Navy lost almost 3 sailors for every infantryman killed ashore, with 24 ships sunk in the waters that would come to be known as Ironbottom Sound. The grinding campaign in the seas around the Solomon Island taught the Navy painful lessons, and eventually wore down the highly elite Imperial Japanese Navy.

Hornfischer is too much of a historian to pass judgement, but one of the key themes show more is the incompetence of American commanders and their inability to press their advantages. Most of the naval battles were night actions; sudden knife fights in close quarters by cruisers and destroyers. While both forces were operating at the very limits of their logistics, the Japanese had trained for night fighting, and had effective doctrine that prioritized their excellent Long Lance torpedoes and individual aggressiveness. Conversely, few American officers understood how to best use the absolute technological advantage of rader-guided gunnery. There were errors that would be funny if they weren't so tragic, like using "R for Roger" as code to open fire, just like Roger Over Victor from Airplane. Patrolling ships were set to Condition 2, a false alertness that had sailors scrabbling to their duty stations in the critical first minutes of battle. There were similar failures of supply, intelligence, and command all through the fleet, and American sailors paid the price.

As with Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, Hornfischer's greatest talent is humanizing the men of the fleet: sailors and junior officers who did their duty even as their ships turned to flaming charnel houses. However, with 82 ships and 7 major battles, there's less time to get to know the participants, and the bigger picture erodes some of his talents compared to his other book. I also wished that there was more of the Japanese perspective, as with Shattered Sword, but I understand why this book would be mostly American. It's very very good military history, but not quite great. show less

James D. Hornfischer’s Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is a meticulously researched recounting of the Battle of Samar on October 25, 1944, during World War II. This history brings to life the heroism of the American sailors aboard the small destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts and the other ships and planes of "Taffy 3," as they faced overwhelming odds against a Japanese fleet off the Philippine Island of Samar. This small force played a pivotal role in the larger Battle of Leyte Gulf, show more a decisive engagement in support of MacArthur’s landing at Leyte; a turning point in the Pacific Theater of War.

Lieutenant Commander Robert W. Copeland, captain of the Roberts sets the tone: "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can." Hornfischer illustrates the human element of warfare, particularly in Chapter 17, where he argues that a fighting force’s effectiveness transcends mere statistics—such as the number of guns or horsepower—and hinges on the morale, leadership, and bonds among the crew:
“A ship's effectiveness is the product of thousands of bonds that develop between individual officers and crew. The bonds form and break in a chain reaction, the power of which is determined by drill, by relationships, by fortitude, faith and values.”

This theme resonates throughout this history: in the spirit of Taffy 3’s six escort carriers (CVEs) and their aircraft, the daring torpedo run led by Copeland (Chapter 22), the stand of the USS Johnston under Commander Ernest Evans (Chapter 23), amid the fog of war captured in Admiral Nimitz’s message to Admiral Halsey: "Where is TF 34, the world wonders" (Chapter 24). These episodes underscore the chaos and bravery of naval warfare in the machine age. It also captures the harsh reality of war at sea where wounded men and ships were left behind, encapsulating the themes of duty, honor, and country.

The account of the light carrier USS St. Lo becoming the first major warship sunk by a kamikaze attack adds a sobering note to the battle’s toll: 13,000 sailors and airmen lost, including 10,000 Japanese casualties. Beyond the damage afflicted by the combatants, the survivors also experienced natural tribulations before rescue.

The writing is both lively and respectful; a fitting tribute to the sacrifices made during the Battle off Samar. I think it’s an essential read for those interested in World War II naval history, offering a blend of strategic and tactical analysis with human drama. I highly recommended this book; it immortalizes one of the "finest hours" of the U.S. Navy. show less

Neptune's Inferno is a vivid, even riveting portrayal of the naval battles that took place in the view and hearing of the marines and soldiers struggling to hold on to Guadalcanal. Because most of the battles took place at night, they often awakened to a sea full of debris, bodies and drifting survivors, with damaged and sinking warships seemingly everywhere. All too frequently the latter were from America or their allies. When it was over, 48 warships(24 from each side) littered Iron Bottom show more Sound and the other waters around the islands. Over 5,000 sailors and marines died in the sea battles more than three times the fatalities during the 6 month land battle.
Using insightful research interspersed with personal stories of participants and survivors, Hornfischer aptly and with penetrating insights, illustrates the steep learning curve that the officers and men of the allied navies went through beginning in August 1942 with an eerily easy landing and ending in Feb 1943, with10,000 Japanese, being quietly and successfully evacuated from what they called Starvation Island.

This book is a story of courageous officers and men fighting as well as they could despite being put "in harm's way" by command decisions from ill-prepared and often inept senior officers placed in command because of their seniority rather than their competence. Why were no submarines used by the US; when the Tokyo Express ran on a schedule as punctual as Japanese trains? Why were the carriers almost always too far away to support the surface ships? Why do you maintain radio silence when the enemy is already firing at your ships? Why have radar if you are not going to use it?
In what could be considered the last sea battle of Guadalcanal, the admiral commanding was repeating fatal mistakes made in previous battles months before. And like the commanding captains and admirals before him, he was new to the job and still did it the old way. show less

"Our schoolchildren should know about [this] incident, and our enemies should ponder it."

In late October 1944 the US Navy guarded the seas off the Philippines protecting the return of General MacArthur. With the 7th Fleet (Kinkaid) guarding from the south, and the 3rd Fleet (Halsey) guarding the north, those in the middle didn't expect to see much action. But Japan knew it's days were numbered and invented a daring plan to protect their position and resources in the Philippines by attacking show more from both sides. Kinkaid's troops soundly defeated Nishimura and Shima in the Surigao Strait, but Halsey abandoned the San Bernardino Strait in the north after a minor skirmish and took the bait offered by Ozawa and was drawn away to the north. This let Kurita through and left the small destroyers and carrier escorts of Taffy 3 to bear the full brunt of the largest ships to ever sail the seas.

Outnumbered and outgunned, the men put up a brave front against the monstrous Japanese ships, trying to protect the important small carriers. Between daring torpedo runs by the destroyer escorts (known to the sailors as "tin cans") and relentless attacks by those planes which were able to get airborne (almost all without proper armaments and some without any at all) the Americans put up such a fierce fight that Kurita was unsure of the true strength he faced, even thinking it was the absent Halsey. In the end he suffered serious losses and retreated, but not before sinking 3 destroyers and the only American carrier sunk by enemy surface fire. (The battle also saw the first sinking of an American ship by a feared new Japanese weapon - the kamikaze suicide pilot - when the St. Lo of Taffy 2 was sunk.)

This is an excellent and highly inspirational account of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, or more specifically the Battle off Samar, fought by the men of Taffy 3 Task Unit. While Halsey skillfully and unjustly took credit for the victory, the bravery of the men who fought it generally went unsung. They endured relentless pounding by far bigger ships with bigger bombs and many spent 48 hours floating in the wide ocean waiting for a rescue that came shamefully late. But this is a story of the kind of bravery that won the war in the Pacific - even retreating Japanese soldiers saluted the men in the water as they steamed by. It's the kind of story that makes you appreciate the incredible valor and sacrifices men made during the war.

I've seen a number of comparisons to Flags of Our Fathers, and while this book is every bit as good, I found it a bit more challenging to read due mainly to my unfamiliarity with ships and planes. But once I stopped worrying about trying to understand and remember all the technical details it became a lot more enjoyable. I *highly* recommend this book. show less