The real deterrent to the Reds' threatened attack on the offshore islands was out of sight of the beaches and almost out of the news. More than 200 miles from Quemoy, Rear Admiral Ralph S perry Clarke's Task Force 77 surged along at better than 25 knots, its awesome power untapped but tautly alert if word should come to unleash it. From Clarke's flagship, TIME Correspondent James Bell cabled:
LKE a tiger on the scent, Task Force 77 stalked around the island of Formosa. Spread out across the glittering sea were 17 ships deployed around the strike carriers Midway and Lexington. Ahead...
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