A Word from Spruance

During the last year of World War II the U.S. Navy indulged in a bit of pleasantry designed to deceive the Japanese: Admiral William F. Halsey commanded the Third Fleet, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance the Fifth. Actually, the fleets and the ships therein were the same; the designation simply changed when the commanders alternated. Last week, as the Navy prepared to move into Japanese waters, the ships finally were divided: for the first time there were actually a Halsey and a Spruance fleet.

While the Third Fleet commander was having horse trouble off Japan (see above), Spruance of the Fifth Fleet held a press conference aboard the battleship New Jersey in Manila Bay. For those who assume that all admirals are intent upon the biggest postwar Navy obtainable, Spruance's views came as a little bombshell. Said he: the Navy should ,be substantially reduced; Okinawa should be a United Nations, instead of a U.S., base; U.S. bases in China or Formosa would not be practical; the Marianas, the Marshalls and the Carolines would be enough for the U.S.

"The only countries with major fleets left are the British and ourselves," said shy, frugal Raymond Spruance. "We're certainly not getting ready to fight each other."

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