On board the San Francisco, Halsey decorated many of the crew who had distinguished themselves, Jack Bennett among them. As the lieutenant junior grade's name was called, Halsey said into the standing mike, "Step closer, son." The words reverberated through the public address system. When Halsey fixed the Navy Cross onto his shirt, its sharp pin stuck into Bennett's flesh, and Bennett was keenly aware of the microphone inches from his mouth. "I knew that any sound of pain I uttered would also boom out over the speakers," Bennett wrote. "I was already scared and now I had to grit my teeth and remain silent as the admiral continued trying to close the clasp, finally giving up when he saw the blood seeping through my shirt."
(from Neptune's Inferno, by James D. Hornfischer)
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