Word: straits
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Japan's Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi is a descendant of the swaggering but practical men of Choshu. Less than a century ago his clansmen enthusiastically followed the Emperor's orders by opening fire on all foreign ships passing through Shimonoseki Strait, the narrow western entrance to the lovely Inland Sea. Retaliation came from a combined British, French, Dutch and U.S. fleet, which blew the Choshu batteries skyhigh, put ashore a landing party to seize the forts, and collected an indemnity of $3,000,000.-Impressed, the Choshu leaders fraternized with the Western officers, begged technical advice and sought...
...pleasant city above the Inland Sea, on Nov. 23, 1896. From childhood he had drummed into him the glories of the Sato family, the Choshu clan and the warrior class. Aristocratic Moyo Sato constantly reminded her son that their ancestors had been charged by the Emperor with guarding Shimonoseki Strait, the gateway to the Inland Sea. Her uncle was a major general who founded the Japanese cavalry; her brothers and sisters married into top families, including the Matsuokas and Yo-shidas. "Never forget you are a samurai," she said. "Never take second place...
...Last Chance. Dwight Eisenhower first ran for President with the idea that he might help bring the world closer to peace. In his first term he demonstrated in the Strait of Formosa that the U.S. would stand staunchly against aggression; he demonstrated in the Suez crisis that the U.S. would resist aggression by its friends as well as its enemies, that peace was meaningless without justice. In 1956, he decided to run for re-election despite two major illnesses and the possibility that a constitutional ban against a third term might dilute his effectiveness (in the event, the 22nd Amendment...
...member of the crew of the U.S.S. Denver, and after 15 years was surprised to hear she had the honor of firing the first shot in the Leyte landings. She also participated in the Battle of Surigao Strait, which I recall quite vividly, as the entire ship was at general quarters all night, it was hotter than I can ever recall, and the night entailed a good deal of work for the crew in handling hundreds of rounds of ammunition when the ships in our task force opened up rapid salvo fire on the unsuspecting Japanese. In surveying the results...
...later by a Japanese kamikaze). He took hits on two carriers, a destroyer and destroyer escort and seemed doomed to far worse. Then came an amazing turnabout. Still recovering from his swim off Palawan Island, bedeviled by the destroyers, Kurita broke off the action, headed back through San Bernardino Strait. Said Admiral Clifton Sprague later: "The failure of the enemy ... to completely wipe out this task unit can be attributed to our successful smoke screen, our torpedo counterattack . . . and the definite partiality of Almighty...