"I ordered the carriers to stow their bombers and torpedo planes on their hangar decks, to spot their flight decks only with fighters, and to maintain an augmented and extravigilant CAP. My trust in the Japs was still less than whole-hearted, and I was taking no chance that a kamikaze would seize a last-minute opportunity to win honor for his ancestors. In fact, I had our fighter directors call our CAP pilots by radio and instruct them, "Investigate and shoot down all snoopers- not vindictively but in a friendly sort of way." I was told later that one pilot had been overheard to ask, "What do you mean, 'not vindictively'?" And another answered, "I guess they mean for us to use only three guns instead of six.""
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Military leaders from the United StatesPeople from New JerseyUnited States Navy peopleAviators from the United StatesNavy Cross recipients
Original Language: English
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p. 272
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Halsey_Jr.
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William Halsey Jr.
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