I could talk about the wonderful wedding I attended last night, and the kindness of Youssef, the courteous cabbie, but that would take us far afield. The Ceremony that joined two extraordinary young people was held at the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church on Lafayette Square near the White House, and I confess that I was moved to be seated next to my lovely cousin in the very pew once occupied by James Madison, Geore H.W. Buxh, William Jefferson Clinton and George W. Bush. Should Hillary make it through the electoral Minefield, I assume they will have an embroidered Kneeler for her as well.

The bus ride to the reception at the Chevy Chase Club through the District brought back a lot of memories, and the town was alive with pedestrians, trick-or-treaters and raucous street life. It was thoroughly enjoyable, see the union of two wonderful people and a lot of extended family.

But I have been going on in the last few days about what happened to CDR Joe Rochefort after his team of code-breakers caught the Japanese unaware, and Admiral Chester Nimitz was able to inflict the most devastating defeat on a nautical enemy since Trafalgar.

The thing that bugged Mac all his life was the shabby treatment then inflicted on the leader of the team that made the victory possible. I will get to all of it, presently, but for today, I just want you to see what Joe wrote to Jasper Holmes in the immediate aftermath of the battle. It is breathtaking, the duplicity and self-aggrandizement that lurks in this town. It did in 1942, and it does so now.

Here is how Joe described what happened, in his own words, and just as it was happening:

The signature line is cut off in Mac’s copy of this letter, but it conveys precisely what happened. Someone else wanted the glory, and they took it, using lies and innuendo.

And you thought the war in the Pacific was against the Japanese.

Copyright 2015 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
twitter: @jayare303