Cruise of the Lanikai: Incitement to War

by Kemp Tolley

In early December 1941 in the Philippines, a young Navy ensign named Kemp Tolley was given his first ship command, an old 76-foot schooner that had once served as a movie prop in John Ford's "The Hurricane." Crewed mostly by Filipinos who did not speak English and armed with a cannon that had last seen service in the Spanish-American War, the Lanikai was under top-secret presidential orders to sail south into waters where the Japanese fleet was thought to be. Ostensibly the crew was to spy on Japanese naval movements, but to Tolley it was clear that their mission was to create an incident that would provoke war.

Events overtook the plan, however, when Pearl Harbor was bombed before the Lanikai could get underway. When Bataan and Corregidor fell, she was ordered to set sail for Australia and became one of the few U.S. naval vessels to escape the Philippines. In this book Tolley tells the saga of her great adventure during these grim, early days of the war and makes history come alive as he regales the reader with details of the operation and an explanation of President Roosevelt's order. Tolley's description of their escape in Japanese warship-infested waters ranks with the best of sea tales, and few will be able to forget the Lanikai's 4,000-mile, three-month odyssey.

Genres: World War II, History

345 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Rear Admiral Kemp Tolley was an officer in the U.S. Navy and is the author of three books and numerous articles on the history of U.S. Navy activities in the Pacific, China, and the Soviet Union.

Reviews

[Joselito Honestly and Brilliantly · Rating 4 out of 5]

First to read, first to review!


Before Pearl Harbor the US was already certain that it will inevitably fight a war with Japan. Understandably, it didn't want to fight Japan alone. And it wanted Japan to be the initial aggressor, provoking an international outrage against it, so that the Americans can get other countries by their side and do some dying for them . Among these countries the American war planners were eyeing was the Philippines. So in a top secret directive US President Roosevelt then ordered three US ships to sail as baits, nosing about Japanese activities in the waters, tempting Nippon warships to sink them. One of these three sacrificial ships was the Lanikai, a schooner built in 1914 which was once used in the 1937 movie Hurricane starring Dorothy Lamour.

Its original name was "Hermes"and was built originally as a trade ship, then changed ownership from hand to hand, variously used for pleasure and for Hollywood until it was re-christened "Lanikai" and ended up in the hands of the US Navy. In accordance with President Roosevelt's secret plan a US Navy ensign named Kemp Tolley (the author) was given this ship as his first command with most of its crews who did not speak English, the ship armed with an outdated Spanish-American War vintage cannon. While docked in Cavite (a port town in Luzon, Philippines) it was given orders sail south, ostensibly to monitor Japanese fleet movments but, unknown to Tolley and his equally-clueless Filipino crews, they were being fed to the Japanese as baits, like you throw chunks of tuna to sharks. President Roosevelt wanted an "incident" which would make the Japanese the villains in the war they will be fighting.

However, just before Lanikai was about to leave Cavite in obedience to Roosevelt's orders, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

Then we all know what happened. The Japanese was able to cripple American air and sea power with lighting speed not only with the treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor but the bombardment they did on US military installations in key points in the Philippines where, just like in Pearl Harbor, the Americans were caught with their pants down. With practically the Japanese ruling the seas and skies, the remaining US warships had nowhere to go but flee southwards to Australia.

All of them didn't survive the onslaught of Japanese planes, submarines and warships--except Lanikai which safely reached Australia.

[Austin Gisriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Kemp Tolley, the skipper of the Lanikai is no storyteller, but he was a good researcher with a great memory. The story bogs down for the non-sailor with too many unfamiliar terms and place names, but as a general adventure story, this isn't bad. Tolley is at his best when outlining his central thesis that the Lanikai's real mission in early December 1941 was to get herself sunk by the Japanese giving FDR a sufficient reason for entering the war. He also does well at juxtaposing the great events taking place in the Pacific during the 5 months following Pearl Harbor with the mundane tasks of sailing the Lanikai and of their ignorance of those great events as they raced to safety in Australia.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tolley gives an interesting point of view concerning his role before and at the beginning of WWII. Sent aboard the newly commissioned USS Lanikai, by order of President Roosevelt, to gather information about Japanese movements on British Singapore and too possibly draw enemy fire, thereby touching off the tinder box of American -Japanese relations that would lead to full on war. The Japanese Attack on Pearl harbor took place before the Lanikai could sail and the rest is history. Makes arguements that Rooseelt wanted the US to get into the war and that the Lanikai was to be part of the bait.

[Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

US Naval officer just off the China Station is given the task of sailing a old schooner through Japanese waters showing the American flag. This is a true story and implicates President Roosevelt in attempting to create an incident to be able to declare war on the Empire of Japan. I particularly enjoyed this book because I was also a US Naval Officer and a sailor who has over 32,000 nautical miles over the bottom.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Cruise of the Lanikai is an interesting book in that it is part memoir and part accusation of FDR trying to provoke a war. What makes this not a conspiracy theory is that Tolley was careful not to make the accusation that FDR would be so rash to allow Pearl Harbor to happen. What could have been a good sea story mixed in politics and for me detracted from the story of the Lanikai.

[Don Annand · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story of a little known chapter of the beginnings of the war in the Pacific and the small role of unlikely warship. It could have had a major impact if only.... Illuminates the state of the allies (un)preparedness at the outset of the war. The book would profit from a map or maps to show the Lanikai’s movements.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. This is the story of Kemp Tolley's cruise from the Philippines to Australia (out of the grips of the Japanese during the beginnings of World War II).