Today I just want to share one of my favorite pieces of historical trivia.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf took place in October, 1944 as part of the American campaign against the Japanese in the second World War. The strategic objective of the Americans was to occupy the Philippines and from there cut off the Japanese supply lines through southeast Asia. The landing force was commanded by Admiral Thomas Kinkaid, and the Naval protection was commanded by Admiral William Halsey’s Task Force 34.
On the morning of the battle, Adm. Halsey identified the Japanese “Northern Force”. He considered them the primary threat, and committed his entire force to pursue them. Adm. Kinkaid was left to commit his landing without his northern flank covered by Adm. Halsey. Shortly after Halsey departed, the Japanese “Center Force” and “Southern Force” came into sight, and threatened Kinkaids landing. Halsey had fallen for a feint!
Kinkaid sent a desperate message to Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz at headquarters in Hawaii. Nimitz drafted the message: “Where is, repeat, where is Task Force Thirty Four?” As part of their encryption protocol, Nimitz’ message would have gibberish phrases put in the beginning and end to hinder decryption by the Japanese. When his message was transmitted, it read as follows:
"TURKEY TROTS TO WATER GG FROM CINCPAC ACTION COM THIRD FLEET INFO COMINCH CTF SEVENTY-SEVEN X WHERE IS RPT WHERE IS TASK FORCE THIRTY FOUR RR THE WORLD WONDERS"
When Halsey’s aids received the message, they either were confused or made a mistake, and they relayed this message to Adm. Halsey: “Where is, repeat, where is Task Force Thirty Four? The World Wonders.”
Adm. Halsey later recounted his reaction to the unintended rebuke: “I was stunned as if I had been struck in the face. The paper rattled in my hands, I snatched off my cap, threw it on the deck, and shouted something I am ashamed to remember.”
Halsey sulked for a full hour and eventually returned to the battle, after any important action and too late to have any impact. The Allies were able to turn Leyte Gulf into a victory, despite Halsey’s failure and subsequent sulkiness.
There is no moral to this story. I think, frequently, about the phrase “The world wonders” as a sarcastic rebuke, and thought I would share this story in case any of you had not heard it before.
AMDG
Times-Dispatch of Vichy Earth 
“The world wonders” sounds like a cliché from a celebrity gossip column from the middle of the last century. “What’s wrong with Greta Garbo’s marriage? The world wonders.” I can imagine it attached to nothing but a question of superlative fatuousness. Does it sometimes occur to you that journalism exists to get us excited about a life that is, by its own account, puerile and fatuous?
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I really enjoy nature documentaries, and am frequently amazed by their ability to stitch together disparate clips of animals to create a story line. I think journalism is like that. They are observing the puerile and fatuous facts of life and stitching a narrative together, to make us feel like we’re part of something exciting.
But when you turn off the news, suddenly you find that life is, in fact, puerile and fatuous, and not worth the trouble. Our human disposition for sensationalism defies explanation. Will we ever learn to disregard the news media? The world wonders.
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