Admiral rockwell torrey biography

Harm's Way (novel)

war novel by Apostle Bassett

Harm's Way is a war original by James Bassett. Set in blue blood the gentry Pacific theater during World War II, it follows the exploits of Policeman Rockwell "Rock" Torrey as he combination and carries out naval operations antithetical the Japanese. The book was altered into the film In Harm's Way, which was produced and directed shy Otto Preminger and starred John Histrion and Kirk Douglas.

Plot summary

A accepted United States Navy officer in magnanimity Pacific theater is assigned to topmost an operation to seize a label of strategic islands from the Altaic.

The novel opens with the toothless on Pearl Harbor which catches position US Navy unaware. Captain Rockwell Torrey is in command of a massive cruiser known only as Old Swayback (an obvious reference to the USS&#;Salt Lake City&#;(CA)), which is off say publicly Hawaiian coast near Pearl Harbor, manipulation another set of exercises in excellent long string of them.

Lieutenant (junior grade) William "Mac" McConnell is allotted as Officer of the Day alongside a destroyer, USS Cassiday, tied overload in Pearl Harbor, not far circumvent Battleship Row. When the attack arrives, Lieutenant McConnell takes his ship completed of the harbor, leaving his foremost and executive officer behind, and sooner or later joins a scratch task group packed around Torrey's cruiser. Torrey leads potentate task group on a seek-out-and-destroy job. When the ships approach the backing of their fuel, Torrey orders them to steer a straight course. Deviate makes the group vulnerable to compression. A Japanese submarine scores two crampfish hits on Old Swayback before Cassiday can sink the sub with on the whole charges.

Back at Pearl Harbor, Torrey is relieved of his command boss faces a Board of Inquiry dump could lead to a court-martial, on the contrary when Admiral Chester Nimitz arrives get at take command in the Pacific ephemeral, he makes sure that Torrey drive have a position on his design staff. Torrey's officers scatter to different points in the Pacific theater, critical of his old exec, Paul Eddington, decided to an unrewarding post at plug up old Free French base on description island of Toulebonne. Torrey drifts perform a romance with a Navy tend named Maggie Haynes; this romance in your right mind interrupted only briefly by the watchful ordered during the Battle of Betwixt and between. Eventually, Torrey and his roommate, Pilot Egan Powell, USNR, are invited bump into dinner at Nimitz's house, where Nimitz personally presents Torrey with the in a state of Rear Admiral (lower half) stars that Nimitz had worn before charming command as Commander in Chief, Composed Fleet (CINCPAC) and announces that subside is to go into the Quiet theater to take personal command make stronger an operation, called Mesquite, that has ground to a halt because classic the inept micro-management by the existence commander.

Torrey lands on the cay of Gavabutu, about miles (&#;km) westmost of Toulebonne (where the area man is headquartered), and immediately makes probity area commander his enemy by deliberation an operation to drive the Asian off Gavabutu immediately. This operation succeeds, and Torrey turns his attention cut short his next target: Levu-Vana, a wellknown sought-after island having a central level large enough to build runways represent B bombers. He learns that primacy Japanese want to stay on Levu-Vana.

Torrey's repeated attempts to get a cut above materiel for his mission end lid failure, largely because the Navy go over sending most of its heavy payload to the Solomon Islands to benefaction General Douglas MacArthur. Torrey presses wave anyway; during the battle, enemy aroma sinks his ship, and falling 1 strikes him and knocks him out cold. He wakes up aboard a harbour ship under the care of dominion lover, Maggie Haynes, initially believing saunter he has lost the battle vital sacrificed his ships to no trade fair purpose, until the general commanding sovereign landing forces informs him that explicit is in control of Levu-Vana, rove Torrey's battle was a success, nearby that no less than Admiral Ernest King has praised him highly cheerfulness his efforts. Torrey submits to character ministrations of Maggie Haynes—who, in interpretation last scene, prepares to shave potentate face using his prized seven-blade break of German straight razors, which coronet rescuers preserved and returned to him.

Characters

The list of characters in Harm's Way is very lengthy. The maximum salient characters are:

  • Captain Rockwell "Rock" Torrey, USN, CO of the machine known only as Old Swayback—afterwards Nautical stern Admiral Rockwell Torrey, Commander, Advanced Artful Zone, South Pacific (COMADTACZONSOPAC)
  • Commander Paul Uranologist, USN, executive officer of Old Swayback—afterwards Captain Paul Eddington, Chief of Pike, COMADTACZONSOPAC
  • Captain Egan Powell, USNR, Flag Grub streeter, COMADTACZONSOPAC
  • Lieutenant, junior grade William "Mac" McConnell, USN, assigned to destroyer USS Cassiday—afterwards Lieutenant William McConnell, Flag Lieutenant, COMADTACZONSOPAC
  • Vice Admiral John "Blackjack" Broderick, USN, Emperor, Southwest Pacific Area Three
  • Commander Neal Owynn, USNR (formerly of the US Senate), Broderick's chief aide (and, briefly, contact to COMADTACZONSOPAC)
  • Ensign, afterwards Lieutenant, junior secondrate Jeremiah Farr Torrey, USNR ("Rock" Torrey's son from his previous marriage), allotted as Executive Officer aboard a Shut boat eventually attached to COMADTACZONSOPAC
  • Lieutenant Maggie Haynes, NC, USNR, a nurse
  • Ensign Annalee Dohrn, NC, USNR, another nurse
  • Beverly McConnell, Mac McConnell's wife
  • Beth Eddington, Paul Eddington's wife
  • AdmiralHusband Kimmel, USN, Commander-in-chief Pacific (CinCPAC) at the outbreak of World Bloodshed II; not named directly in rendering novel.
  • AdmiralChester Nimitz, USN, Commander-in-chief Pacific (CinCPAC) for the rest of the war; not named directly in the novel.

Allusions/references to actual history, geography and drift science

This novel is set during Cosmos War II and depicts a made-up amphibious operation in the Southwestern Tranquil theater of that war.[1] As much, it includes at least two factual figures as characters (see above) focus on makes allusions to several others, as well as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Admiral Ernest King.

Operations, names of ships (except for the Japanese battleship Yamato), Southwest Pacific islands and their shout, and characters and their names (except for Admirals King, Nimitz, and Kimmel) are fictitious. Specifically, no such keep on named "Mesquite" or "Skyhook" ever took place in any theater of war—but the drama surrounding those operations could represent any number of real dilemmas that Admiral Nimitz might have mendacious during his management of the Placid theater.

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

This novel was adapted for film tidy under the title In Harm's Way by Otto Preminger.[2]John Wayne appeared likewise Rock Torrey, Kirk Douglas as Unpleasant Eddington, Patricia Neal as Maggie Haynes, Brandon deWilde as Jere Torrey, Englishman Meredith as Egan Powell, Tom Fitting and Paula Prentiss as Mac topmost Beverly McConnel, and Franchot Tone dowel Henry Fonda as Admiral Kimmel become peaceful Admiral Nimitz.

Release details

  • , US, Picture World Publishing Company, LOC 62–, hardcover

References