Admiral Nimitz and the soul of leadership...

[stanleywinthrop]

An alternate history of this event is as follows:

Initially Palau was needed to protect Macarthur's flank as he invaded Mindanao. However, after Halsey discovered that the defenses on Luzon were much weaker than expected he recommended to Macarthur that they skip Mindanao, and Macarthur agreed. This made Palau irrelevant, and Macarthur recommended to Nimitz that it not be taken. However this all transpired within days of the invasion, and Nimitz, or his staff, or both, decided it was a "round down range" and permitted the invasion to proceed.

Source: William Manchester, American Ceaser, see also Manchester, Goodbye Darkness

I've heard various versions of the blame Macarthur or blame Nimitz story from other sources as well.