US Marine Corps - The Black Vault

594 Anzphibians Came To Conquer
a couple of late afternoon martinis to a swig at the bottle did not start until
after Tarawa.Sl
His senior subordinate in the Solomons penned his remembrances as
follows:
He was drinking ‘off hours.’ On a couple of occasions it came to my atten-
tion. However, I do not believe it affected his efficiency the next day, except
to make him more irritable than usual.
On one of these occasions, just before TOENAILS, he was having an
important presentation by an Army Brigadier who planned the Artillery setup
for TOENAILS. Turner was ‘bright eyed and bushy tailed at the 0800 con-
ference, quickly pointed out several glaring defects in the plans and had it all
done over.sz
That was par for the course.
PROBLEMS IN NEW GEORGIA PLANNING
It should be noted here that some of COMINCH planning assistants did
not think l’ice Admiral Halsey’s final plan for TOENAILS was bold
enough and made their concern a matter of record. A draft JCS despatch,
calling for assault landings at Vila and Munda airfields with an attached
supporting memorandum, was sent up the line in the COMINCH Plans
Division to Admiral King some six weeks before the landings.
The War Plans Officer (Rear Admiral C. M. Cooke) placed his comments
on this memorandum:
We called on Halsey for some action. He has forwarded his plan. I do not
feel that at this distance, we are in a position to insist on a bolder plan, to
which Halsey has already given consideration and presumably rejected.
There are obvious advantages to immediate seizure of Munda and Vila air-
fields, which from the spot, I might personally advocate.sa
Admiral King agreed.
It also might be added that CINCPAC had preferred that the large
transports not be employed for the assault landing in TOENAILS, because
of the lack of strong air cover over the landing areas and a decent respect
for Japanese air capabilities.
mIbid.
= Fort.
m (a) COMINCH to COMSOPAC, 081329 May 1943; (b) COMSOPAC to COMINCH
090501 and 160420 May 1943; (c) Assistant Chief of Staff Plans to Admiral King, memorandum
of 21 May 1943; subj: COMSOPAC TOENAILS plan.