Man in a Blue Suit

As he raised his hand to be sworn in as Chief of Naval Operations, quiet, brilliant Admiral Forrest P. Sherman (TIME, Nov. 7) could not conquer telltale signs of strain and emotion. His voice was firm as he vowed to defend the country against "all enemies, foreign or domestic . . ." But as the ceremony went on, in Navy Secretary Francis P. Matthews' big, well-furnished office, he seemed almost on the verge of breaking down.

An atmosphere of repressed hostility and resentment hung heavily in the room; it was obvious that many present still regarded his longtime espousal of unification as a kind of treachery. His predecessor, Admiral Louis Denfeld, who stood stolidly at Sherman's side, thrust out his hand, pumped once, said gruffly: "Good luck." After that, 38 impassive admirals--core of the Navy brass and of the stubborn fight for independence--filed past and went through the same, painful formality.

As Sherman made the little speech expected on such occasions, his voice was so low that he could be heard only with difficulty. He was sure, he said, that he would have the help and support of officers who were in the room, and of all in the Navy. There was a dead silence when he concluded. When the ceremony was over, many admirals pointedly went downstairs to applaud Admiral Denfeld on his way out of the building.

Despite some officers' worst fears, the new CNO said no heads would roll. Naval Aviator Sherman asked Vice Admiral John Dale Price, Denfeld's vice chief of operations and an airman, to stay on at his job until spring. After that, Rear Admiral Lynde Dupuy McCormick, a submariner, now boss of the 12th Naval District, will become vice chief. The Navy's two top jobs are usually split between a seagoing admiral and an airman. Sherman abolished Operation 23, which had been disseminating anonymous pro-Navy propaganda during the months of political feuding, but took no punitive action against its directors.

He also made it plain that he had not become CNO to preside over the liquidation of the Navy. As the first up-from-the-cockpit air admiral ever to achieve the top job of the service, he was for keeping naval aviation strong, and said so. None of this meant that he would have any easy time in restoring harmony. But it made Navy hotheads reconsider: Sherman, an officer of sharp intellect and steely determination, would probably be able to argue the Navy's case, within the limits of unification, better than anyone in the service.

Said one admiral, after the die was cast: "He still wears a blue suit. You can't wear one of these blue suits ten years, and not believe in the outfit."

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