The officer that addresses the men is - I believe - the XO. And they ask him point blank "why?" His answer is pretty damning but at the same time sums up the Japanese ethic at the time. "We have to die so the rebuilding can begin." Or words to that effect.

The book "Unholy Trinity" covers the building and dropping of the atom bomb and also go in to some depth on the German and Japanese programs. The Japanese were closer than initially credited. The German program was so mired in bureacracy that only divine intervention could have helped it. Japan was mere months away from the critical phases. In fact, one of the generals returning from the initial Hiroshima fact finding trip steps in to the meeting room with Hirohito and says "yeah, it was an atom bomb. Just like the one we've been working on." Scary shit.

Like the typhoon in late '44 a lot of US damage was kept underwraps as the public was tiring of the war and this is borne out in "Flags Of Our Fathers" during the war bond fund raising. So I think had Kurita soldiered on and obliterated all of Taffy 3, he'd have been at a fuel/ammo level that may not have allowed continuing on to Leyte in force. At best, he'd have sent some units home due to fuel. Had he reached Leyte and like I said, survived Army Air he'd have been wiped out shortly after. His chances of escape post Leyte, would have been slimmer than Nicole Richie's waist.

If the USN battleships got to him first, then the cameras indeed would have expended every reel of film in the Eastern hemisphere to capture it. If the carriers got to him first, then they would darken the sky. The Airedales were too sh*t hot at that point. They sank everything they set out to bomb. So Kurita would not have survived which would have been an American victory and any mistakes made in killing him by the US side would be forgotten/ignored. Movie theatres would still be playing the battle to this day if Mo, Jersey and Iowa had reached Kurita's battle line first and started a sh*t storm of radar directed 16 inch fire his way.

I'll get a care package up together for you. I'll also go through my fleet and see who needs guns and who doesn't. Like I said, I'll re-gun the Trump Baltimore as I hate her guns. You will too when you see them...

Cheers,


Don