The Conquering Tide (107 page)

South Pacific command conference on USS
Argonne
at Noumea, New Caledonia, on September 28, 1942. From left to right: Major General Richard K. Sutherland, chief of staff to General MacArthur; Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, CINCPAC; Vice Admiral Robert L. Ghormley, COMSOPAC; and Major General Millard F. Harmon, USAAF.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

Battle of Tassafaronga, November 30, 1942. A wounded man is evacuated from the torpedostricken cruiser
Minneapolis
, flagship of Rear Admiral Carleton H. Wright.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

U.S. amphibious troops transfer into landing craft for the landing at Empress Augusta Bay, Bougainville, November 1943.
U.S. National Archives.

An LST transports troops of the 1st Marine Division to a landing on Cape Gloucester, the western extremity of New Britain, in December 1943. Note the wealth of supplies and munitions loaded into trucks and jeeps on deck.
U.S. National Archives.

Marines encounter rough surf as they wade ashore unopposed at Cape Gloucester on December 26, 1943.
U.S. National Archives.

The Gato-class submarine Wahoo (SS-238) is launched at Mare Island, California, February 1942.
Courtesy of Mare Island Historic Park Foundation.

The newly commissioned Wahoo gets underway in the Napa River, July 1942.
Courtesy of Mare Island Historic Park Foundation.

Richard O'Kane, executive officer, and Dudley “Mush” Morton, captain of the
Wahoo.
Courtesy of Mare Island Historic Park Foundation.

The Japanese destroyer
Harusame
struck by an audacious “down the throat” torpedo shot in Wewak Harbor, northern New Guinea. Photograph taken through the periscope of the
Wahoo
, January 24, 1943.
Courtesy of Mare Island Historic Park Foundation.

Preliminary design plan for the
Essex
-class aircraft carriers.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

USS
Essex
(CV-9), underway in May 1943. She was the first in a new class of powerful fleet carriers that would spearhead the advance into the western Pacific. A squadron of SBD scout bombers (lacking folding wings) are parked aft on the flight deck. Amidships, with wings folded, are F6F Hellcat fighters and TBF torpedo planes.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph.

Marines advance across a devastated landscape on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, November 1943.
U.S. National Archives.