WWII US Navy Estate – Flag Officer to Admiral Raymond Spruance – Fifth Fleet 1944/1945 – USS Indianapolis – Kamikaze Piston – With Diary – Original ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima’ by Joe Rosenthal – Ultra Rare Museum/Archive Grade (Request further details)

Description

One of a kind and personal U.S. Navy Archive of Lt. Cyrus Huie, USNR
who served as the Flag Officer to Admiral Raymond Spruance, Fifth
Fleet Commander in 1944 and 1945 during many of the critical
campaigns of later World War Two in the Pacific.

Admiral Spruance, often considered to the be one of the best US
Admirals of WWII, Commanded US Naval Forces during many of the
most crucial Battles of the Asiatic Pacific Campaigns including The
Battle of the Philippine Sea, Task Force 16 at The Battle of Midway with
Carriers Enterprise , Hornet, subsequently becoming Commander of
Fifth Fleet in April 1944 Spruance preferred to use the heavy cruiser
USS Indianapolis, named for his hometown, as his flagship.

Spruance moved his flag to the old battleship USS New Mexico after
USS Indianapolis was struck by a Kamikaze off Okinawa

“March 31, 1945: Well we got it today. A Jap plane crashed aft our main deck and
banged us up a bit. Can still move along but fresh water is no more and
looks like we will have to move. Am getting things lined up for it. Pretty
scary feeling when the plane hit, retired to Kerawa Retto, 1 man buried
this aft. Adm 2 guests for dinner.”- Diary of Lt. Huie (Kerama Retto).

When New Mexico was struck by two kamikazes on the night of 12 May
1945 an immediate search by Spruance staff found the Admiral
manning a fire hose midship. Determining that New Mexico was not
too badly damaged Spruance kept her as his flagship for the rest of the
campaign.

Admiral Spruance was calculating and cautious in contrast to Admiral
Halsey who commanded the Third Fleet. Spruance was nicknamed
“Electric Brain” for his acute ability to remain calm even in moments of
supreme crisis a reputation only further bolstered by his successful
tactics.

“April 12, 1945: We caught a mean one today shot down three
planes, one plane hit the (illegible) about 1000 yards from us, one hit

the Fellars and two were coming right for us it seemed. This is pretty
jittery business, and everybody is fairly nervous except the Admiral who
keeps very calm throughout. At GQ again tonight with flares dropped
and torpedo attacks, several exploded fairly close to the ship.” – Diary of
Lt. Huie.

After World War II Spruance went on to serve as President of the Naval
War College and Ambassador to The Philippines. On his way to take his
position as President of the Naval War College Spruance and his wife
stopped in Little Rock, Arkansas to dine with and visit his old Flag
Officer Lt. Cyrus Huie as described in a newpaper article within the
archive.

This extraordinary personal archive chronicles the later portion of the
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign and heralds the well known accomplishments
of Spruance aboard the USS Indianapolis and USS New Mexico during
some of the fiercest fighting of World War Two. It tells a unique story
from the perspective of a Navy Lieutenant who loved to sketch
cartoons and play the accordion or ukulele but was apprehensive about
his experience with daily air raids and the grim loss of life. Join us as we
take a close and personal look through the lens of Flag Officer Lt. Huie
and his archive of exceptional objects and history related to this
discovery.

This Museum Quality Archive tells the story of some of the
most significant moments of US Naval History with priceless highlights
including an aluminum piston head from a Japanese Kamikaze Aircraft,
an original theater printed copy of the ‘Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima’ by
Joe Rosenthal with a Passed by Censor stamp to the reverse, Lt. Huie’s
personal desk top calendar diary with extensive entries Feb 1944 – July
1944, Photographs, Autographs, Intelligence Items, documents, maps,
newspapers, souvenirs and more. The diary alone contains a near daily
appearances of the who’s who of leadership in the Pacific including
Admiral Nimitz, Halsey, Sharp, Kirkpatrick, Gillies, Hill, Hover, Reifsnider,

General Erskine, Riley, Rocky, Worton, Col. Hogaboom,
Secretary of the Navy Forrestall, Ernie Pyle, and Numerous Others.

A full dossier including diary transcription with reference footnotes and
inventory is available to qualified buyers upon request.

Contact us today to discuss this Estate