Goddamnit, use your common sense!" - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Reply to William F. Halsey, Jr., when Halsey asked "How far do you want me to go?" as he prepared to lead Task Force 2, the most critical part of which was the aircraft carriers stationed at Pearl Harbor, out on patrol. Halsey was concerned about the possibility of charting a course that might be taken as an act of war by the Empire of Japan. Task Force 2 left Pearl Harbor on 28 November 1941. As quoted by Halsey in Admiral Halsey's Story (1947) by William Frederick Halsey, Jr. and J. Bryan III. New York: Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company, p. 74
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Goddamnit, use your common sense!

— Husband E. Kimmel

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Goddamnit, use your common sense!" in the context of "Reply to William F. Halsey, Jr., when Halsey asked "How far do you want me to go?" as he prepared to lead Task Force 2, the most critical part of which was the aircraft carriers stationed at Pearl Harbor, out on patrol. Halsey was concerned about the possibility of charting a course that might be taken as an act of war by the Empire of Japan. Task Force 2 left Pearl Harbor on 28 November 1941. As quoted by Halsey in Admiral Halsey's Story (1947) by William Frederick Halsey, Jr. and J. Bryan III. New York: Whittlesey House, McGraw-Hill Book Company, p. 74" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Husband E. Kimmel" (Quotes) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 19, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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#Husband E. Kimmel#goddamnit#common#sense
Husband E. Kimmel

About Husband E. Kimmel

Husband Edward Kimmel (February 26, 1882 – May 14, 1968) was a United States Navy four-star admiral who was the commander in chief of the United States Pacific Fleet (CINCPACFLT) during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was removed from that command after the attack, in December 1941, and was reverted to his permanent two-star rank of rear admiral due to no longer holding a four-star assignment. He retired from the Navy in early 1942. The United States Senate voted to restore Kimmel's permanent rank to four stars in 1999, but President Clinton did not act on the resolution, and neither have any of his successors.