On this day, 66 years ago, August 16, 1959 (July 13, 1959 in the lunar calendar), William Frederick Halsey Jr. of the United States Navy passed away. William Frederick Halsey, Jr., October 30, 1882-August 16, 1959), also translated as Halsey, Commander of the U.S. Navy. During World War II, he commanded many battles in the Pacific and won them. He was nicknamed "Barbarian" because of his brave style, and was also called "Admiral of Sailors" because he was easy-going. He was one of the most popular generals in the US military during World War II and was deeply loved by his subordinates. Halsey was born in New Jersey on October 30, 1882. His father was a 1873 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He served in the Navy for many years and was awarded the rank of captain. Many of Halsey's ancestors were related to the Navy, which had an impact on his choice of a naval career. After graduating from high school, he was unable to be admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy because he was not eligible for a guaranteed leave. He had to be admitted to the University of Virginia to study medicine. In 1900, his mother was admitted to the U.S. Naval Academy after repeated pleas with President William McKinley. During school, his academic performance was average but he loved football. In 1904, because President Theodore Roosevelt expanded the Navy and required a large number of new officers, Halsey graduated early and served on the coal-burning warship USS Kansas. Although he was only a junior officer, he was eager to show his talents in the war. Before World War I, Halsey was assigned to command the destroyer USS Fruset. Coincidentally, the future U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was also engaged in sea area surveying on this warship, and the two formed an unusual friendship. When the First World War broke out, Halsey finally got his wish and became the commander of a destroyer formation. In combat, he showed outstanding military talents and was appreciated by his superiors. After World War I, after training from the Department of Naval Intelligence, Lieutenant Colonel Halsey became a naval attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Germany. In 1924, he was appointed captain of the destroyer. Two years later, he was promoted to co-captain of the battleship USS Wyoming and to colonel. 1927 was an important turning point in Halsey's naval career. Halsey became captain of the USS Rena practice ship at the Naval Academy, and the school's first pilot cadet group happened to use the ship as a training base. This gave Halsey an unexpected opportunity to learn aviation knowledge. He was fascinated by flying, and although he was not allowed to fly due to poor vision, he was convinced that aircraft had become an important part of the maritime combat fleet and began to study how aviation units could contract operations with surface ships. In 1935, Halsey was ordered to serve as captain of the USS Saratoga aircraft carrier after training at Pensacola Flight School. Two years later, he was transferred to principal of Pensacola Flight School and promoted to Rear Admiral. In 1938, Halsey became commander of the 2nd Aircraft Carrier Squadron, and the following year he became commander of the 1st Aircraft Carrier Task Force, with the flagship of the USS Saratoga. In the spring of 1940, he was promoted to commander of the Aircraft Carrier Task Force, commanding all aircraft carriers under the jurisdiction of the Pacific Fleet, and promoted to Vice Admiral. Although he has entered the ranks of senior commanders, he is still deeply interested in various new technologies and has become an active advocate of certain new technologies and new equipment. Because it is good at bombing, it is called a "bomber". In the same year, the entire Pacific Fleet moved to Pearl Harbor. In 1941, as the situation in the Pacific continued to escalate, the U.S. Navy continued to strengthen its naval and air forces in the Pacific. On November 28, 1941, Halsey led the 8th Task Force, mainly composed of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, to transport Marine Corps aircraft to Wake Island. It was planned to return to Pearl Harbor before December 7, but due to sudden strong winds, it was delayed by a day, and Halsey and the Enterprise escaped disaster. After receiving news of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Halsey was ordered to hijack the Japanese attack fleet (obviously a wrong decision), but a series of specious intelligence in the chaos created by the outbreak of the war caused Halsey's fleet to pursue west of Pearl Harbor, which undoubtedly saved Halsey and the Enterprise, because if they encountered the Japanese attack fleet north of Pearl Harbor, Halsey would surely die. In the early days of the Pacific War, Nimitz's operational policy of active defense and proactive attack after becoming commander-in-chief of the Pacific Fleet was firmly supported by Halsey. At the end of January 1942, Halsey led the aircraft carrier Task Force of the USS Enterprise and USS Yorktown to carry out tactical raids on the Japan-occupied Marshall Islands and Gilbert Islands. At the end of February, a raid was carried out on the Japan-occupied Wake Island. These tactical victories can only achieve a little strategic balance in the overall defeat of the US military in the early stages of the Pacific War. In April 1942, Halsey and Enterprise escorted the USS Hornet, which attacked Tokyo. On April 18, 1942, Doolit led 16 B-25s to take off from the USS Hornet aircraft carrier and successfully attacked Tokyo. Halsey's reputation was famous, but when the Battle of the Coral Sea took place in early May, Halsey was on his way to the theater of operations. Before the subsequent Battle of Midway, Halsey was forced to be hospitalized for a skin disease. Halsey regretted not participating in the Battle of the Coral Sea and the Battle of Midway. In mid-October 1942, the war on Guadalcanal was extremely unfavorable to the U.S. military. Nimitz appointed Halsey as the Supreme Commander of the South Pacific Theater (and Commander of the 3rd Fleet) to command the allied army, navy and air forces in the region to turn the tide. On October 24, the Japanese army's general offensive began, but the landing US troops held tenaciously and repelled the Japanese attacks many times. On the 26th, Halsey's 16th Task Force and 17th Task Force engaged with the Japanese Joint Fleet in the waters off Santa Cruz Island. The U.S. Navy suffered a tactical defeat. The USS Hornet sank and the USS Enterprise was seriously injured. In Japan, two aircraft carriers were damaged and 100 aircraft were lost. However, the Pacific Fleet Command believed that the overall situation on Guadalcanal was not unfavorable. When Halsey visited Henderson Airport on November 8, he proposed "Kill the Japs! Kill the Japs! Kill more Japs!" Slogans to inspire the defenders. In a series of subsequent wars of attrition on Guadalcanal, the US military gradually gained the upper hand. In February 1943, the Japanese army on Guadalcanal was forced to withdraw. President Roosevelt sent a "congratulatory message" to Halsey for his victory in the Battle of Guadalcanal. Halsey was subsequently promoted to Admiral. Since then, the Japanese army has suffered successive setbacks in the Harsey theater. At this time, the Pacific Fleet Intelligence Office decoded the intelligence that General Yamamoto 56, commander of the Joint Fleet, flew to Bougainville Island for inspection. On April 18, Halsey was ordered to organize the "revenge" ambush and eventually shot down the Yamamoto plane. In May 1943, the allies decided to launch an attack on the Japanese army in the Central Pacific and Southwest Pacific at the same time. Halsey was ordered to organize and command the Battle of the Solomon Islands. The 3rd Fleet has been strengthened with a total of 6 aircraft carriers (more than 540 carrier-based aircraft), 2 battleships, 49 cruisers and destroyers, and is also equipped with the Marine Corps. On June 30, Halsey carried out a landing operation on New Georgia Island, but encountered fierce resistance from the Japanese garrison. On August 25, the US military captured the island and wiped out about 9000 enemy troops. According to the scheduled plan, Halsey's attack target will be Colombangela Island. The island is tightly fortified by 10,000 Japanese troops. A strong attack will not only cause heavy casualties, but also make the operation protracted. Therefore, Halsey decided to encircle the island rather than attack, and crossed the island to capture Veraravela Island. Later, Nimitz's proposal of "cross-island operations" provided a successful precedent. Before the landing on Bougainville Island, Halsey was ordered to transfer some ships and troops to Spruance, who organized and commanded the Battle of the Gilbert Islands, so he had to consider winning by surprise. On November 1, 1943, Halsey used several feints to attract the main force of the Japanese army, but successfully landed on the west coast of the island, where landing was inconvenient, shocking the Japanese army. However, Harsey's special mixed fleet was far behind to replenish fuel and ammunition, and Japan's fleet was strengthened by six heavy cruisers, putting Harsey facing its most critical moment. On November 5, 1943, Halsey dispatched his two aircraft carriers without enough surface ships to escort them. The carrier-based aircraft blew up six Japanese cruisers and four destroyers parked in Rabaul. Mr. Koga hurriedly withdrew the heavy cruisers. The battle for Bougainville Island did not end until March of the following year. After the Battle of Solomon Islands, the US military officially divided the jurisdiction and tasks of the Central Pacific Theater and the Southwest Pacific Theater. As the supreme commander of the South Pacific Theater, Halsey is under MacArthur's operational command, while Halsey, as the commander of the 3rd Fleet, is under the leadership of Nimitz, which inevitably creates friction. By June 1944, Halsey's 3rd Fleet was no longer comparable to the beginning and had developed into a fleet with 4 aircraft carrier groups (12 aircraft carriers) totaling more than 500 ships. Both Nimitz and Halsey advocated a direct attack on the Philippines around the Caroline Islands, but they were not adopted. In August, Halsey led the 3rd Fleet to attack the Caroline Islands, destroying 480 Japanese aircraft and about 100 ships. After discovering that the Philippines 'coastal defense was empty, Halsey advocated a direct attack on the Philippines, which was approved by the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff. In October 1944, the Halsey 3rd Fleet controlled by Nimitz and the Kincaid 7th Fleet commanded by MacArthur entered Philippine waters. The Japanese fleet was organized into the Southern Fleet, the Central Fleet and the Northern Fleet to counterattack the U.S. military, with a total of 4 aircraft carriers and 9 battleships. There are 19 cruisers and 33 destroyers, and more than 600 aircraft. Japan plans to first use the aircraft carriers of the Northern Fleet to lure the 3rd Fleet away from Leyte Bay and move north, then use the Central Fleet to cross the Strait of San Bernardino and join forces with the Southern Fleet to attack Leyte Bay and destroy the US landing site. Relevant intelligence shows that the Central Fleet will be the first to arrive in Leyte Bay. Halsey personally led three task forces to blockade the Strait of San Bernardino. On October 24, Halsey stormed the Central Fleet. After receiving inaccurate intelligence that the Central Fleet had fled, he decided to attack the aircraft carriers of the Northern Fleet. At the same time, he ordered the formation of the 34th Task Force to block the strait but did not dispatch it. That night, the Central Fleet sailed across the Strait of San Bernardino. At dawn on the 25th, when Kincaid's main force attacked the Southern Fleet, Sprague's escort aircraft carrier Task Force was attacked by the Central Fleet. After Harsey sank two aircraft carriers of the Northern Fleet (the other two were subsequently sunk), he was recalled by Nimitz's erroneous telegram. As a result, both sides lost fighter jets, and the Japanese lost 4 aircraft carriers, 3 battleships, 11 cruisers, 9 destroyers, and 600 aircraft. Halsey's command was still fiercely criticized, but King and Nimitz disagreed, always citing the results of the battle. Halsey received his third Distinguished Service Medal after the Battle of the Philippines. After 1945, Halsey led his troops to support landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Later on at sea, except for the kamikaze, Halsey could not find any opponents. On August 15, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. The surrender ceremony was held on September 2 on Halsey's flagship battleship USS Missouri. Two months later, Halsey led his troops back to San Francisco. In December, Halsey was promoted to five-star Admiral. In 1947, Halsey retired and published "The Story of Admiral Halsey". Halsey died on August 16, 1959 in San Francisco, USA.