Leslie E. Gehres

Gehres took a step down in rank to command an aircraft carrier, supposedly as he desired a shot against Imperial Japan. On 7 November 1944, Gehres took command of USS Franklin, relieving Captain J. M. Shoemaker at the change of command ceremony, where Gehres also criticized the crew for failing to shoot down the kamikaze that had damaged their ship.[4] Gehres was a strict disciplinarian whose autocracy was disliked by many of Franklin's crew, and some even consider his leadership as "toxic".[5]

In 1945, Franklin made airstrikes on the Japanese homeland in support of the Okinawa landings, later launching sweeps and strikes against Kagoshima and Izumi on southern Kyūshū.[6]

Before dawn on 19 March 1945, Franklin, which had maneuvered to within 50 miles (80 km) of the Japanese mainland, closer than any other U.S. carrier during the war, launched a fighter sweep against Honshū and later a strike against shipping in Kobe Harbor. After being called to battle stations twelve times within six hours that night, Gehres downgraded the alert status to Condition III, allowing his men freedom to eat or sleep, although gunnery crews remained at their stations.[3]

In those days, radar was not entirely reliable or capable of sensing planes in clouds and this caused problems on this occasion, with short-term blips appearing on screen, then disappearing again. Despite receiving a last-minute warning of a "bogey" from USS Hancock, Gehres never ordered Franklin to general quarters, possibly for this reason. This "bogey" turned out to be a single Japanese aircraft that pierced the cloud cover and made a low-level run on the ship to drop two semi-armor-piercing bombs. The resulting fire and explosions killed 807 and wounded more than 487, the total casualties representing over a third of the carrier's personnel complement. Franklin had suffered the most severe damage and highest casualties experienced by any U.S. fleet carrier that survived World War II.[7]

Gehres, along with ten of his officers and a single enlisted man from Franklin's crew and air group, were subsequently awarded the Navy Cross for heroism in coping with Franklin's battle damage and keeping the ship afloat. However, many members of the crew did outstanding work in carrying out actions, of their own volition, which played a major part in saving lives and enabling the survival of the vessel.

Joseph T. O'Callahan, a Jesuit priest and Navy chaplain on Franklin, was also offered the Navy Cross for his actions during the attack but turned it down. Speculation at the time was that O'Callahan was offered the Navy Cross in lieu of the Medal of Honor since his heroic actions on Franklin highlighted perceived lapses in leadership by Gehres, which reflected poorly on the Navy.[8][9] President Harry Truman intervened after the resulting public outcry and the Medal of Honor was awarded to O'Callahan on January 23, 1946.[10]

Upon Franklin's arrival in New York, a long-brewing controversy over the ship's crew's conduct during her struggles finally came to a head. Captain Gehres had accused many of those who had left the ship on 19 March 1945 of desertion, despite the fact that those who had jumped into the water to escape had done so to prevent a likely death by fire, or had been led to believe that "abandon ship" had been ordered.[4] While en route from Ulithi Atoll to Hawaii, Gehres had proclaimed 704 members of the crew to be members of the "Big Ben 704 Club" for having stayed with the heavily damaged warship, but investigators in New York discovered that only about 400 were actually onboard Franklin continuously. The others had been brought back on board either before or during the stop at Ulithi. All of the charges against the men of her crew were quietly dropped.

According to the 2011 documentary USS Franklin: Honor Restored, Gehres was universally excoriated for his leadership deficiencies and his tendency to blame his crew for the near loss of his ship.[4] Several men, including wounded, who had been blown off the ship by its huge explosions were later refused re-entry onto the ship. Gehres threatened to court martial men who had been blown overboard, because they had not been given the order to abandon ship.

Gehres's actions during this time lead him to be described as "a cautionary tale about the scourge of 'toxic leadership.'"[1] He was relieved as captain of the Franklin in July 1945, four months before Japan's unconditional surrender, and reassigned as Commander, Naval Air Station San Diego.