The cook and the admiral

At the news that a fight with battleships was brewing, [Rear Admiral Daniel] Callaghan began pacing his flag bridge. He was heard mumbling that it was a fool's errand to take on ships three times the San Fransisco's size, and that it was a shame there was no time to confer gain with Admiral Halsey. When the moment presented itself, Eugene Tarrant exercised the cook's prerogative and asked Callaghan if he really thought the mission was hopeless. As Tarrant recalled, the task force commander was candid. "He said to me, 'Yes it may be that. But we are going in.'"

(from Neptune's Inferno, by James D. Hornfischer)




USS San Fransisco passing under the Golden Gate bridge