Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. fought the Empire of Japan from 7 December 1941 until 15 August 1945. In those 45 months—from his task force’s early strikes against Japanese island bases to the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo to command of the Third Fleet through V-J Day—he became America’s favorite admiral.
Often lost between the Pearl Harbor and Tokyo Bay bookends is Halsey’s shore-based command from late 1942 until early 1944. As Commander, South Pacific Force (ComSoPac), he proved an effective, often innovative leader.
By then, Halsey nursed a boiling, ten-month hatred for Japan; Pearl Harbor had chiseled an indelible impression on his psyche. Riding the USS Enterprise (CV-6) into port the night of 8 December, pushing through oil-scummed water, he saw the sights and smelled the odors. They became a scarlet thread in the tightly woven tapestry of his brain.
