Hornet Rendezvous With Enterprise

Early April 13, 1942, USS Hornet, her flight deck crammed with 16 US Army B-25's, sailed north of Midway Island on a westerly course, near the international date line. She was screened by a cruiser and a division of destroyers and accompanied by a fleet oiler. Lookouts scanned the horizon, alert for ships of the Japanese Navy.

"Surface ship broad on the port bow," the lookout reported to the officer of the deck.

"Very well." In fact, Hornet's search radar had been tracking the approaching task force for more than an hour. It was Task Force 16, USS Enterprise accompanied by four destroyers, two cruisers and a fleet oiler, with Vice Admiral William F. Halsey embarked in Enterprise. Halsey assumed operational command of the entire force.

The crews were not yet sure what their task would be. Halsey removed all doubt: "This force is bound for Tokyo."

It had been four months and six days since the attack on Pearl Harbor.

They were still six days short of their planned launch, and there would be several refuelings. Destroyers had to refuel every three days and the cruisers also needed to keep their tanks topped off. The carriers had enough fuel for a 12,000 mile cruise, but they needed to have plenty of Av Gas for the airplanes.

Hornet had already undergone one extraordinary replenishment after leaving San Francisco. Two days out, a navy blimp had been sent to deliver a cargo of vital parts for the Army's B-25's.



Here, USS Hornet in the distance and USS Enterprise in the foreground, with her navy fighters spotted on the flight deck for quick launch in case of need.

We're Number One! [In Low Wage Jobs]

Here's an interesting and discouraging graph, courtesy of economist Mark Thoma.

 He used the graph in a talk at University of Oregon Monday night.

Figures Don't Lie - But Liars Figure

At the Pentagon about budget time, cynical staff officers often observed, "figures don't lie, but liars figure."

We see the same phenomenon at election time, but it seems more and more that liars continue to figure, day in and day out, year in and year out.

Tony Tharp has posted on his web site a helpful antidote to at least some of the lying figures. He also provides a link to his source, here.

Titanic

A hundred years ago, April 10, 1912, RMS Titanic departed from Southampton, England, stopping first at Cherbourg, France, then at Queenstown, Ireland, on her maiden voyage to New York.

She never made it.

Election Preparations

Voters don't need to know how much work goes into preparing for an election. They just need to show up and vote. It should be comforting, though, to know that great effort goes into insuring that their votes are accurately recorded and counted.

Today, and for several more days, the Pamlico County Board of Elections is conducting logic and accuracy testing of our voting machines. The state requires us to test 10% of our machines. In Pamlico County, we test every machine used in the election.

Testing pays off. We have never had a calibration problem with any of our voting machines on election day.

Pacific War - April 8, 1942

On this day seventy years ago, American and Filipino forces defending the Bataan peninsula on the Philippine island of Luzon surrendered to the invading Japanese forces. Within days, the 70,000 surviving prisoners would be subjected to the Bataan "death march."

At Pearl Harbor, the US carrier Enterprise, escorted by two cruisers and four destroyers and accompanied by a fleet oiler, steamed past Ford Island and into the Pacific. Vice Admiral William F. Halsey was embarked and commanded the task force. The ships set battle readiness condition three, with guns manned and most watertight doors and hatches either closed or ready to close at a moment's notice. Lookouts scanned the water for hostile periscopes and the sky for enemy aircraft. Enterprises fighters were spotted on the flight deck, ready for quick takeoff if needed.

The crews shared rumors (scuttlebutt) about their destination, but no one seemed to have a definitive answer.

Enterprise hadn't been exactly quiescent up until this point. On December 7, Enterprise, then located about 215 miles west of Pearl Harbor, had launched eighteen aircraft at dawn to run a scouting patrol to the east and northeast and then recover at Ford Island landing field. The commanding officer of the Enterprise air group flew into the attacking Japanese aircraft. Thirteen of the planes landed safely, despite Japanese air attacks and friendly anti-aircraft fire. Nine planes were sent out to search 30 degrees either side of north, out to a distance of 175 miles. Had Admiral Nagumo decided to launch a third attack wave, it is possible that the Enterprise air group might have located the Japanese force. But he had already decided to leave the area.

Weeks later, on January 23, 1942, Enterprise provided air support for a landing of about 5,000 marines at Pago Pago in Samoa, then proceeded to the first US attack on Japanese-held territory. On February 1, Enterprise and her embarked air group attacked Japanese bases in the Northern Marianas, including Kwajalein. Meantime, Yorktown struck targets in the Southern Marianas and Gilberts. It had not quite been two months since Pearl Harbor.

Three weeks later, Enterprise attacked Japanese fortifications and the airfield on Wake Island. It had been two and a half months since Pearl Harbor. On the 4th of March, Enterprise attacked Japanese forces on Marcus Island. It was three months since Pearl Harbor and Enterprise had four times engaged Japanese military forces in hostile action.

On the 8th of April, 1942, when Bataan fell, the outgunned American and Filipino defenders had held out against an experienced Japanese Army for four months.   Enterprise  was on her way to another attack on Japanese forces. This would make five times in four months.

Get Out And Register - Then Get Out And Vote

Is voting a right or a privilege?

By law, it is a right. Every American citizen has the right to vote. One can also view it as a privilege, but it is a privilege that belongs to every citizen.

More importantly, it is a duty. In a democracy, if you don't take the trouble to vote, you are arguably a freeloader.

Don't be a freeloader. Do your duty and vote.

The first step in voting is to make sure you are registered and that the information is up to date.

How to register? You can do it when you get a driver's license or at any public service agency. But in Pamlico County, it is most convenient to drop by the Board of Elections office the next time you are in Bayboro.

The next election is the May 8 primary. Voter registration for that election closes at 5:00 PM April 13. If you miss that deadline, you can still vote using same-day registration during one-stop, but you can't change any previous party registration after April 13.

If you have questions, call the Board of Elections and ask our Elections Director, Ms. Lisa Bennett. She'll walk you through it.