ARMED FORCES: And Then There Was One

Five men were on deck for Forrest Sherman's job as Chief of Naval Operations. Most conspicuous among them—and the Navy's popular choice—was Admiral Arthur W. Radford, boss of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Brilliant, bluntly outspoken, Airman Radford was Airman Sherman's own choice to succeed him two years hence. But popular "Raddy" Radford had led the Navy's revolt against unification in 1949, was anathema to the Air Force, whose giant B-36 bomber he scornfully labeled a "billion-dollar blunder," and had been called a "fancy Dan" by Omar Bradley. The morning before Sherman's funeral, Radford went to Navy Secretary Dan Kimball,...

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