Two battle leaders in the Pacific stated in no uncertain terms last week that the U.S. had swung from the defensive to the offensive against Japan.
Major General Willis H. Hale, commander of the Army's Seventh Air Force, based on Oahu, said that the raid on Wake was just a rehearsal. "We can continue to do that in the future," he said.
"There are probably at least a dozen Japanese bases that we can hit from central Pacific islands, and the Japs will have great difficulty retaliating."
In the South Pacific Admiral William Halsey was less specific tactically but more specifically tactless. In an...
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