"At meetings of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, King consistently and frankly maintained the attitude that his war was against the Japanese. Nor is this surprising. The Pacific War was a maritime struggle in which the Navy was unquestionably the senior service apply the power of the other services in execution of its own strategy. King was a proud and ambitious man. In the Pacific his navy could win honour and glory on its own account, but in the Atlantic there was no enemy worthy of its steel. There it would be reduced to the menial role of escorting convoys and supporting the amphibious operations of the Army, which every American sailor had been brought up to regard with antagonism and contempt."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Military leaders from the United StatesLegion of Honour recipientsPeople from ClevelandAviators from the United StatesNavy Cross recipients
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Chester Wilmot, The Struggle for Europe (1952), p. 107-108
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ernest_King
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Ernest King
157 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Ernest King →
Related Quotes
"Every naval officer has a job to do. He should do that job out of a sense of duty and should not get recognition for …"
"Initiative means freedom to act, but it does not mean freedom to act in an offhand or casual manner."
"I don't know much about this thing called logistics. All I know is that I want some."
"Discipline is willing obedience to attain the greatest good by the greatest number. It means [the] laying aside, for …"
"Anyone who won't take a chance now and then isn't worth a damn."
"I don't care how good they are. Unless they get a kick in the ass every six weeks, they'll slack off."
"It must be the key idea of all hands that we will make the best of what we have."
"I expect the officers of the Atlantic Fleet to be the leaders of what may be called the pioneering spirit- to lead in…"
"There is work in plenty for all hands- officers and men."
"Don't tell them anything. When it's over, tell them who won."