US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

270 Amphibians Canze To Conquer
offensive all during the sec~ffd half of June. At the same time, he was
pressing his co-worker on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Marshall, for
the same purpose:
As you know, it has been my conviction that the Japanese will not stand
still in the South Pacific and will not let us stand still. Either they will press
us with an extension of their offensives, seeking weak spots in order to break
our line of communications, or we will have to be pressing them. It is urgent,
in my opinion, that we lose no time in taking the initiative ourselves.gg
Although Rear Admiral Turner knew when he left Washington on
12 June 1942 that there were going to be combat operations in the South
Pacific, he did not know WHEN the operation was to take place, nor exactly
WHERE, though his personal choices of objectives were the lower Solomons
and Santa Cruz Islands.
He enjoyed his leave of absence, as much as anyone could under the
circumstances. Before his leave was up, he was ordered by a COMINCH
telegram into San Francisco on 29 June 1942 to rendezvous with five of his
staff officers (Linscott, Weir, Harris, Doyle, and Bowling). COMINCH
and CINCPAC were also soon to head towards San Francisco.
Rear Admiral Turner wrote in regard to this period:
I first knew definitely of the Operation on June thirtieth, when staff officers
of mine flew from Washington and met me in San Francisco. I drew up a
project and submitted it to Admiral King and Admiral Nimitz on July third.
This project was approved in general terms. Then on July fourth, I flew to
Honolulu; remained three days consulting with Admiral Nimitz, and his staff,
and Admirals Fletcher, Kinkaid, and Admiral Fitch. Admiral Noyes was at
sea, en route from San Diego to the South Pacific with some of the troops.
On July eighth, I departed Honolulu, flew to Auckland, arriving on July
fifteenth. Took command of the Amphibious Forces on July eighteenth and
sailed from Wellington with part of the force on July twenty -second.loo
It was the nation’s and the Navy’s great gain that CINCPAC survived a
crash landing coming into San Francisco on 30 June 1942 for his conference
with Admiral King of 3 July, when his big four-motor Sikorsky amphibian
turned over on its back, killing the co-pilot. Admiral Nimitz had another
WCOMINCH to C/SA, letter, FF1/A16-3 ( 1), Ser 00544 of 25 Jun. 1942, subj: Offensive
Operatiom in the South and Southwest Pacific Area, encl: draft directive for WATCHTOWER.
‘mRKT to Admiral Hepburn, memorandum, Mar. 1943; (b) Colonel Linscott in Washington
telephoned Rear Admiral Turner the day the derision embodied in COMINCH 231255
June was taken, and in guarded language informed him that he would be going to work sooner
than expected but in the general area previously discussed. (Despatch direrted “Seizure and
Occupation of Tulagi, Target Date 1 August.”) Interview with Colonel Lim.cott, 10 Dec. 1962.
Hereafter Linscott,