US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

CACTUS Bound 279
Fleet Admiral Nirnit,z, ip~ecalling the occasion, said:
This was my first opportunity to work closely with Kelly Turner. I never
served in the same ship or organization with Kelly Turner. He was in War
Plans when I was Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, and I used to see him in
Starks office.
I once asked Kelly Turner: ‘Could I look at our War Plans?’
He said: ‘We will tell you what you need to know.’
As an aside, perhaps you would like to hear about my becoming CINCPAC
{Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet].
On 16 December, Colonel Knox sent for me and asked: “How soon can
you travel ? The President and I have just clecicled that you are going out to
take command of the Pacific Fleet. . . .’ I asked for Russell Willson or
Kelly Turner to be my Chief of Staff. Neither could be sprung. I decided
it would be foolish of me to try to disrupt the Navy Department.
Our PB2Y plane almost capsized on trying to take off. Finally got off on
24 December and arrived Pearl on Christmas morning.z
Rear Admiral Turner could not actually issue any orders until he took
command of the South Pacific Amphibious Force, but he had the attentive ear
of those who could issue orders.
With every day counting, and with Rear Admiral Turner’s impatience
mounting as a hound dog’s scenting the fox, the flight from Pearl Harbor
to Auckland in rmrthern New Zealand was interminable. Bad weather
delayed the Patrol Wing Two plane a day in Canton and a day in Tongatabu,
Tonga Islands. But Rear Admiral Turner, ever the busy bee and top notch
staff officer and making one hundred percent use of the time available while
at Tongatabu, went “thoroughly into the status of the construction projects,
as regards completion. ” He sent off his opinion that “most of the work
can be done within the next four months,” in a detailed four-page report
to Rear Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, Chief of Staff to CINCPAC.’
Arrival at Auckland and reporting to Vice Admiral Ghormley did not
take place until 15 July, a week out of Pearl, and four days later than Rear
Admiral Turner had planned. The last leg had to be made via Fiji rather
than direct because of a weather front.’
On Thursday, 16 July, after receiving a “Can do” from Rear Admiral
Turner, COMSOPAC set the date for the landings as 7 August 1942.5
On Friday, 17 July 1942, Rear Admiral Turner flew south to Wellington,
‘ Interview with Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, LISN, 19 Oct. 1961. Hereafter Nimitz.
‘ Turner to Spruance, letter, 13 Jul. 1942.
‘ Linscott.
‘ (a) Linscott; (b) COMSOPAC to CINCPAC, 160612 Jul. 1942.