During the last year of World War II the U.S. Navy indulged in a bit of pleasantry designed to deceive the Japanese: Admiral William F. Halsey commanded the Third Fleet, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance the Fifth. Actually, the fleets and the ships therein were the same; the designation simply changed when the commanders alternated. Last week, as the Navy prepared to move into Japanese waters, the ships finally were divided: for the first time there were actually a Halsey and a Spruance fleet.
While the Third Fleet commander was having horse trouble off Japan...
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