censorship rules before publishing the article. The chief of naval operations saw no issue with Griner sending the letter to Time—he took no position on its publication, since that probably remained out of his control—but he had little stomach for urging Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal to issue an exculpatory statement. In King’s view, this would publicly undercut Holland Smith and validate what King considered to be biased findings against the general by the Buckner Board.
