11. The Tales of the Yellow Stain
"Did you talk with Queeg about escort duty at Kwajalein, Mark?" Keith asked.
"Yes, quite a bit." Neuhow consulted his notes. "Most of what Queeg told me was close to his trial testimony."
Queeg
The Caine's orders were to escort the landing craft to within a thousand yards of the beach at Jacob. We did that.
Our function was primarily to guide the attack boats, which had limited navigational capability, to the departure point. From the departure point, the boats should have been able to make it on their own. And we were also to supply protection during escort, in that the attack boats would be within range of enemy fire from shore.
And we were taking some enemy fire. Couldn't tell where it was coming from, though, and the situation was complicated by the fact that the landing craft were moving so damn slowly. The Caine was moving about as slow as she could go, but the boats kept falling behind. Willie Keith was in the wheelhouse, and his orders were to keep the Caine moving. He didn't seem to realize that he was outrunning the boats.
"That's partly true," Keith interrupted. "I was in the wheelhouse, and I thought the boats we were escorting were keeping up with us, until Steve poked his head in and told me the Caine was going too fast."
"That's pretty much right," Maryk agreed. "I could not understand why Queeg let Willie take the conn. Queeg should have been there himself."
"Do you know where the captain was at this time?" Neuhow asked, looking up from his notepad.
Willie shook his head.
So did Maryk. "I didn't see him. But the men said that they saw him on the side of the ship away from enemy fire, and some said he was quivering with fear. Did anyone else tell you that?"
"Yes, quite a few men were eyewitnesses and they mentioned it. Some of them thought it looked like Queeg was afraid of enemy fire, but others thought Queeg seemed to be concerned about the boats and where the enemy fire was coming from. And some of them said that he wasn't shaking with fear, he was shaking with anger. One man said that Queeg snarled, 'Those bastards need to keep up!' Another quoted the captain as saying, 'We're going to get our asses shot off if they don't get moving!'"
"I didn't hear that from any of the men I talked to," Maryk said. "They all said the captain was trying to protect himself from enemy fire."
"And indeed that is what most of the men who talked to me said as well. Most, but not all. Would you like to hear what Queeg had to say?"
Maryk was droll. "I'm certain I'll find it interesting."
Queeg
Those damn landing boats were taking their sweet time. As I said, we were taking fire; not heavy, but we were taking it, and it was going to get worse the closer we got to the beach. The best thing to do is to keep moving. But we couldn't, because those damn landing boats were so damn slow. I observed some of the other groups of boats, and they didn't seem to be moving as slow as our group.
Willie Keith even ordered an all-stop to allow the boats to catch up. That made me hot. We were lucky that the enemy didn't take that opportunity to zero in on us.
The boats caught up, and I heard Steve call to them to tell them to keep up, but again the boats couldn't keep up. I admit I was pretty angry about that. I know now that it was not the fault of those men in the boats, but other groups seemed to be keeping up with their escorts.
Neuhow looked up. "I brought up the issue of where Queeg was on the Caine during this time."
Queeg
I was all over the ship: spotting the other groups, spotting enemy fire, spotting the boats we escorted, spotting for mines. I also thought I might have spotted enemy submarine activity, and given the Caine's position and slow speed, she would have been vulnerable to a torpedo. We hadn't been advised of any submarine activity near our position, but I felt I ought to look for submarines anyway, especially since that was one reason we had been made a part of this campaign in the first place. I did a lot of that [submarine spotting] when I was in the North Atlantic, and there were plenty of times in the Atlantic when we thought there would be no submarine activity, and then we'd see a torpedo in the water or hear a ship blow up. You can never assume that there are no enemy submarines.
"Queeg was actually dumbfounded that any of the officers or men would deem what he did at that time to be cowardice," Neuhow added. "He learned, shortly before trial, that stories had been circulated on the Caine that he had been hiding from enemy fire. He considered those stories to be malicious slander."
Keith: "Did you say that Queeg said he thought he'd actually carried out his orders to escort the landing craft to within a thousand yards?"
"Yes. He said he'd done what he'd been ordered to do. He said so at trial as well, when Challee asked him about it."
"Nearly everyone else on the Caine testified that the Caine never got close to a thousand yards," Maryk said. "Queeg ordered the turn way too soon. Queeg was the only one who told a different story. And his story included a few details that took me by surprise, I have to say."
Neuhow produced a bound volume of pages from one of his cases. "This is Captain Queeg's testimony at trial. Willie, I don't know if you've heard this."
Testimony of Lt. Commander Phillip F. Queeg
Q: [by Mr. Challee] How far were you from the beach when you ordered the Caine to make this turn?
A: The shoreline was about four thousand yards away, if I remember correctly, but the position of the shoreline varies with the tide. The beach was much closer.
Q: Explain for the Court what you mean, the beach was much closer.
A: I mean that the area in which the Caine operated had shallows that extended from the shoreline. If we came within a thousand yards of the shoreline, we'd wind up running aground, and the Caine would be a sitting duck. When we got within a thousand yards of the shallows, that is, the beach, I ordered the turn.
Q: Please remind the Court: what was the turning diameter of the Caine?
A: A thousand yards, sirs. The Caine could not turn on a dime the way the newer destroyer escorts can.
Q: How did you know the Caine was within a thousand yards of the beach when you ordered the turn?
A: I read the instruments and verified the distance myself.
Q: By the instruments, you mean what?
A: I mean an alidade, with measurements made with respect to a landmark, which I believe was Roi Island. I feel I should also mention that I felt it important to take into consideration set and drift along the line of bearing, in addition to the distance needed for the ship to turn. Upon taking the measurements and upon taking those other factors into account, I determined we had reached the line of departure, and I ordered the turn.
Q: Tell the Court, if you know, whether the Caine was the first escort vessel to make such a turn.
A: The Caine most certainly was not the first vessel to turn. I observed at least four other escort vessels retiring prior to my giving the order for the Caine to turn.
Keith seemed to go pale. "Was that true? The Caine really didn't turn too early?"
Neuhow once again fished a folder out of a case. "One member of the court felt this way."
Anonymous Member of the Court
To hear that the Caine had to contend with shallows, that seemed unlikely to me, though not entirely impossible. The designated line of departure might have accounted for any shallows, as would the designated cutoff tangent on Roi Island.
Most troubling to me was that Queeg's testimony didn't get backed up by any of his men. Not a one. They all knew what their orders were. They all had some sense of how much further they had to go. And they all swore that the turn was premature.
And sweet Jesus, you could see it in the men's faces when they testified. That trial transcript you're holding there doesn't reflect how those men looked. They were ashamed, no question about it. They all knew they'd turned way too early and they felt like cowards for abandoning those men in the landing boats.
All of us on the court were really bothered by this. There seemed to be no question that Queeg had ordered his vessel to turn too early. I can understand how he was frustrated by the landing craft being slow, but that's no excuse.
Neuhow closed the folder. "You know what happened next, after the captain ordered the turn."
"You bet I do," Maryk nodded. "The captain ordered that a dye marker be thrown overboard to mark the departure point. Then the Caine turned tail and left. I never learned whether those men made it to the island or not."
Neuhow pursed his lips. "As it happened, Steve, they all made it to the island, exactly where they were supposed to. There was a general consensus that the men in the boats were mad as hell that the Caine ditched them so that they had to make the rest of the way on their own; but there was also general consensus that the Caine's departure seemed to have one beneficial effect: enemy fire in their direction all but ceased. In fact, they took no appreciable enemy fire until they reached the beach. Some of the men in the boats who had been cursing the Caine for leaving changed their minds and started singing her praises, saying that the captain must have realized he was doing more harm than good and got the hell away. Of course, once they got ashore, the men had to face enemy fire. Five died fighting and about twice that many got wounded. But every single man made it to the beach safely, without so much as a scratch."
"I didn't know that," Maryk said meekly.
"Lucky for you, neither did the court," Neuhow smiled. "They all assumed that the landing craft got lost or shot up, and that made them angry." Neuhow found another document, and read.
Anonymous Member of the Court
It was the testimony about Kwajalein that first swayed me. Captain Queeg was under pressure, and he cracked. He saved the Caine and left those Marines in the boats with no cover and almost no navigational guidance. Queeg wouldn't admit it, tried to rationalize the whole thing, but clearly that's what happened. And Maryk saw it. And during the typhoon, Queeg was under pressure again, and Maryk thought Queeg was cracking again. Which he probably was.
And then in the courtroom, when Greenwald cross-examined Queeg, he put him under pressure, and Queeg cracked again right in front of our eyes. At that point, I saw no possible vote but acquittal.
This was quite a turn-around for me. I went into the trial thinking that I couldn't see any way that I could possibly vote to acquit. But by the end, I couldn't see any way not to vote to acquit.
Some of the other testimony was consistent with Queeg being unbalanced, too. The strawberries business in particular struck me as being very, very strange, and I can see how that might seem to be an indication of mental incapacity. But Queeg's performance while doing escort duty at Kwajalein was much more troubling. How could it not be just naked cowardice under fire? In the trial, Greenwald said something that made me think. He said that it was not the defense's contention that Queeg was a coward. Quite the contrary: the defense assumes that no man who rises to command a ship in the Navy could possibly be a coward; and if he commits questionable acts under fire, the cause must be elsewhere.
Those words really stuck with me. There was nothing in Queeg's record indicative of cowardice. If it wasn't cowardice, what could it possibly be? I kept coming back to what seemed to be the only explanation: the captain was not mentally capable of command, when the pressure was on.
"After the trial," Keith said soberly, "Barney pointed out to us that after we saw the captain crack during escort duty, we could have supported him, but we didn't. He asked us whether we could help one another. And none of us stepped up to say a word of support."
"And I know why," Maryk said. "We all felt ashamed. Looking back on it now, I wish I had spoken up in defense of the captain. I'd previously spoken to other officers in his defense, but I'd never expressed my support to the captain in his presence. After the Yellowstain business, it seemed to me that it wasn't the time; I couldn't bring myself to say anything. After the trial, Barney put the question to me, asking if we'd supported Queeg, would he have cracked during the typhoon? And I felt that if Queeg felt he had the support of his officers, it probably wouldn't have necessary to relieve him, and I said so. Thinking back on it, saying some words of support might not only have helped Queeg cope, it might have helped some of the other officers cope as well. It looked to me like they were feeling pretty low."
Neuhow quietly made notes, then put down his pencil and quickly found two other files. He thumbed through one of the files until he found a particular document. "You may find it interesting what Mr. Paynter and Mr. Rabbit had to say. First, Paynter." Neuhow read aloud:
Paynter
The captain called us all together in the wardroom and tried to tell us all to support each other, and help each other. I couldn't tell whether he was trying to apologize or not. Captain Queeg wasn't with us at Midway or Coral Sea. He didn't know how the men of the Caine felt about doing the tough jobs when they had to. For the Caine to turn tail like that at Kwajalein, it was painful. And then for Queeg to say what he said, it was the most pathetic thing I've ever witnessed. Nauseating, really. It made me want to vomit. Even thinking of it now makes me sick. I'm telling you, right now, I feel physically ill.
"After saying this," Neuhow looked at Maryk and Keith, "Mr. Paynter excused himself so that he could go to the head to throw up." Neuhow then found another document in another folder. "This is what Rabbit had to say."
Rabbit
This get-together with the captain after our escort duty was the lowest of the low points for me aboard the Caine. I can hardly bring myself to talk about it. I'd seen some action aboard the Caine under Captain De Vriess, and I can tell you that the Caine may not have been the most shipshape ship, but she was no weak sister when it came to combat. I was so humiliated by what we'd done at Kwajalein that, in all honesty, I even considered going over the side. Even today, I have to force myself not to dwell on what happened.
Maryk and Keith were appalled. "I knew everyone took it hard, but I had no idea they took it this hard," Maryk remarked.
Neuhow found another document. "This is Mr. Rabbit again."
Rabbit
After Steve Maryk relieved the captain, we were all told what he had done. I almost wanted to break down and cry with joy. After being a part of that disgrace that was the Caine's performance at Kwajalein, I was privately delighted that it was Queeg's turn to be humiliated.
During the trial, I was asked whether I agreed with what Steve had done. My answer was that my agreement or disagreement didn't mean anything, there was nothing I could do about it either way. And that answer was true enough, but I admit I side-stepped the question. Did I agree with what Steve did? Hell, yes. Hell, yes!
"But you know, Steve," Keith said, "I've given some thought to whether Barney was right, that we should have supported Queeg. And do you know what? I just don't see how we could have. After what happened, how could any of us give a word of support? We knew we looked like cowards. How could we say we supported what Queeg had done? How could we say he'd done the right thing? I don't know that I could ever live with myself if I had done that."
"That wasn't all of what Barney said, Willie," Maryk reminded Keith. "Barney didn't say we had to approve what the captain did, just that we had to tell him that we were still on his side. But we didn't even offer a single word of encouragement, not one word of loyalty. And Barney was right, a lot of us started adopting outright disrespectful attitudes, making up the Yellowstain song and referring to the captain as a pants-wetter and a madman. We shouldn't have done that."
"Mark," Keith faced Neuhow, "did you talk with Queeg about his little speech in the wardroom? What did he we expect from us? Anything?"
Neuhow found a particular page in his notes and read.
Queeg
After the escort, I could see that tails were drooping. I could see that they thought the Caine did not perform as well as she should have, that even though she did her job, she could have done more than she did, and that the men in the boats might have a tough time getting ashore. I decided to talk to the officers.
I'm not one for giving speeches or pep talks. When I was a lowly ensign, my first captain was really good at doing that sort of thing, but I knew I wasn't. I honestly didn't know what I wanted to say, and I'm not sure I can even remember what I did say. I do remember that I didn't want to blame the men in the boats for being so damned slow. I also do remember that I didn't want to yell at my officers or give any orders. I wanted to talk to them man-to-man.
You quoted some of the men saying that I talked about my dog, and though I don't remember doing that, I don't deny it, either. You quoted some of the other men as saying that I was apologizing. I don't know how they came to that conclusion, since I can say without a doubt that that is not what was said.
I do remember trying to get across the idea that we were all working toward defeating the Japanese, and that we had to work together to do it. I think I may have said that we did our job and we had more work ahead of us, and it wasn't going to be easy. More than anything, I remember having an excruciating headache at the time.
The officers just sat there. Like a row of kewpie dolls. They didn't say a word.
I couldn't blame them. My speech was awful. I wanted to lift their spirits, but I failed miserably, and I knew it. I told the men that I was open to comments or suggestions as to how we could improve things, and then I went to my cabin to lie down.
Maryk and Keith looked at one another. "At least he's honest in saying that he doesn't remember what he said," Keith commented. "Because the things he thinks he said, he didn't say."
"Both of you talked to me during our first stage about this meeting," Neuhow said. "Do you have anything to add?"
Maryk and Keith silently shook their heads.
Neuhow went on. "I asked Queeg whether he thought Maryk should have done anything in response to what was said. I should tell you that, when I read what Queeg's response was, that he was smiling very kindly. What he said was not out of bitterness."
Queeg
No, there was nothing Steve could do. It was my job to try to say my piece. If Steve had spoken up, he would've probably said something intelligent, which would have made me look like more of a dunce than I already did.
"Looks like Barney was wrong," Keith intoned. "Queeg didn't think he was asking for our loyalty."
"No, I think Barney pegged it right," Maryk responded. "Queeg was taking it all on himself. Would it have made a difference if I'd simply said something? Maybe I could have said, 'We're all in this together, sir,' or 'The captain is right when he says we need to help each other.' This wouldn't endorse what he did, but it would be something. Would it have made a difference in the typhoon, though? I don't think I'll ever know."
Neuhow began thumbing through his notes. "There are two things I'd like to read to you. First, from Barney Greenwald."
Greenwald
I was drunk when I confronted Steve and the other men of the Caine [at the post-acquittal party], I admit it. I remember accusing them of not being loyal enough to Queeg, who, unlike them, had stood up to the Nazis. Later, I thought I was too hard on them, too hard on Steve in particular. Steve did a hell of a lot for Queeg, most of it unappreciated, and I was critical of Steve for not doing more. So, now that I'm sober [laughs], I don't see things quite that harshly, at least as to Steve. Steve's honesty was the reason I agreed to represent him in the first place, and after I thought about it, it wasn't fair of me to be critical of Steve for not sacrificing that very honesty for the sake of loyalty to Queeg.
Neuhow put away those notes and found others. "There was one more thing Queeg had to say on the matter of disrespect."
Queeg
Some days later, I overheard some of the officers talking, and one of them used the term 'Old Yellowstain.' I thought he was talking about Yellowstone Park in the States, and I thought nothing of it. I never imagined back then that it was a name some of the men had given me.
But when I got to San Francisco, one of the psychiatrists asked me what I thought of being called 'Old Yellowstain.' That was the first time I understood that this moniker had been pinned on me, and I figured out pretty damn quick that it is implied cowardice. I told the doctor, honestly, that no one used that term in my presence, that I would have disciplined anyone who did, and that I did not have any idea why that name would be given to me.
The psychiatrist also asked how I felt about the being blamed for everything that went wrong aboard the Caine. He seemed to assume that I already knew that I was being blamed for everything. He asked how I felt about the men thinking more highly of Steve Maryk than they thought of me.
As he asked these questions, I kept my temper and answered honestly. But it was pretty clear to me that he wasn't asking these questions in order to rile me up. He was asking these questions because he'd learned from the investigators that disrespect for the captain of the Caine was widespread, and that he assumed that I knew it, and he was wondering how I handled it.
Steve must have known that this was going on. He should have put a stop to it.
"As I testified at the trial," Maryk said, "I tried to do that very thing."
