Naval War College Review Volume 55 Article 22 Number 1 Winter

2002 Jerauld Wright: Warrior among Diplomats J. L. Holloway

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Recommended Citation Holloway, J. L. (2002) "Admiral Jerauld Wright: Warrior among Diplomats," Naval War College Review: Vol. 55 : No. 1 , Article 22. Available at: https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/nwc-review/vol55/iss1/22

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the cruise missile has long since replaced one-of-a-kind assignments, from being the aircraft as the primary means of in charge of President ’s strike from the sea. yacht to commanding a British subma- This volume does add some historical rine in World War II (though he was nei- substance to the important topic of mili- ther British nor a officer). tary innovation, but the prospective Born in 1898 into an Army family, reader should be cautioned that it is nei- Wright adored his father, and clearly the ther a well balanced nor a comprehensive feeling was mutual. “Pop” took his son account of the impact of technological on hunting and fishing trips around the change on the U.S. Navy from the Civil world, and the young boy relished the ex- War through World War II. perience. When Wright was only thir- teen, then-Major William Wright, JAMES R. FITZSIMONDS Naval War College stationed in Luzon as commander of the Philippine Scouts, took the youngster, armed with his own shotgun, on a mili- tary expedition to Mindanao to suppress an uprising by the rebellious Moros,

Key, David M., Jr., Admiral Jerauld Wright: Warrior Philippine Muslims. It was an adventure among Diplomats. Manhattan, Kans.: Sunflower Univ. from America’s brief colonial period, Press, 2001. 438pp. $22.95 more Kipling than Hemingway. For more than two-thirds of a century, a In 1914 Wright entered the Naval Acad- host of diplomats, military officers, and emy (at sixteen) because there was no ap- statesmen have been entertained in their pointment available at West Point. He wardrooms, clubs, and drawing rooms graduated in only three years, because of from to Manila by Jerry Wright’s . He was sent to Europe on stories and vignettes drawn from his re- blockade duty, which also provided the markable career. After every session, the opportunity to visit his father, now Ma- inevitable reaction would be, “Jerry, jor General Wright, commanding the you’ve got to write a book.” 89th Infantry Division on the Western Front. However, the trip became more Now that book has been written by Da- than just a visit with “Pop” at his tented vid M. Key, Jr., a nephew of the admiral. headquarters when Wright was Key, making good use of his Harvard caught in a German artillery barrage. A.B. in English, does an excellent job in letting his uncle and his contemporaries It did not take the young naval officer tell the story, while himself providing the long to realize that the U.S. Navy was the historical context, one that is unusually right place for him. He derived personal rich in drama and import. Fortunately, as well as professional satisfaction from Key had much to draw on, and he has his assignment as naval aide to Coolidge done a thorough and discriminating job and from his subsequent deployment to in his research. Wright wrote copi- the Station as of a ously—leaving journals, memos, articles, four-pipe . and letters—all flavored with the special Wright remained a bachelor as a junior brand of low-key, wry wit that was char- officer, but with his special charm and acteristic of him. Wright had plenty to tall good looks, he was much in demand write about. His career was replete with

Published by U.S. Naval War College Digital Commons, 2002 1 Naval War College Review, Vol. 55 [2002], No. 1, Art. 22

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in the social whirl of Washington, D.C. error to creep in, but these are few and There he met Phyllis Thompson, a soci- minor, limited generally to a garbled ac- ety reporter for the thriving Washington ronym or the misspelling of a ship’s Star. They were married within a year. name. Otherwise the book rings with the Throughout the rest of his career they re- authority of an action report. mained a devoted couple. Phyllis was al- Admiral Jerauld Wright is a delightful ways the exemplary Navy wife (she book, easy to pick up and hard to put published a book by that title), uncom- down. It is a biography of a splendid in- plaining about the frequent moves and dividual whose service and contributions long separations, and a pillar of support to his country constitute a significant his- for her husband in all his varied endeav- torical record in itself. It is a story that ors and often bizarre adventures. unfolds with the candor and humor of a During World War II, Wright commanded special person whose intellect and charm major forces in action and served on per- made him a “diplomat among warriors.” sonal liaison missions for the Allies. After J. L. HOLLOWAY the war he served in the Pentagon, where, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Retired because of his combat experience, he was assigned to develop the operating policies for the postwar Navy. The real star in Wright’s crown, however, was his tour as Supreme Allied Com- Hoffman, Jon T. Chesty: The Story of mander, Atlantic, one of the two top General Lewis B. Puller, USMC. New York: Random posts in Nato. He handled that job with House, 2001. 629pp. $35 such distinction that he served for six In the heralded history of the U.S. Ma- years in what was normally a two-year as- rine Corps, Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller oc- signment. His experiences in that critical cupies a unique position. Long revered as post at the height of the should the greatest hero in the Corps, Puller is be of special interest to naval historians the only Marine to earn five Navy and students of modern history. Crosses. His career spanned thirty-seven After retiring from active duty as a years, during which he mastered the en- four-star admiral in 1960, he performed tire spectrum of warfare, from chasing his final service to the country in 1963, the guerrilla leader Augusto Sandino in when, at the urging of the secretary of the jungles of Nicaragua to commanding state, President John F. Kennedy ap- a Marine regiment in the bitter fighting pointed Wright to serve as U.S. ambassador near the Chosin reservoir. Most Marines to . Again Wright answered the are familiar with Burke Davis’s 1962 ac- call of his country to serve in an assign- count of Puller’s life, but fellow leather- ment of great responsibility and unusual neck Jon T. Hoffman has produced what sensitivity, one especially significant be- is likely to become the definitive biogra- cause of the instability of the Chinese phy of this extraordinary officer. Nationalist government and the potential Hoffman is no stranger to biography. His threat to U.S. vital national interests. Once a Legend: “Red Mike” Edson of the David Key’s lack of familiarity with mili- Marine Raiders earned rave reviews from tary jargon has allowed an occasional a number of distinguished military histo- rians and editors. As he did with Edson,

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