When the Korean War erupted on 25 June 1950, Captain Arleigh Burke was serving as the Navy Secretary at the Defense Department Research and Development Board in Washington. In late August, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Forrest Sherman, sent Burke, newly frocked to rear admiral, to Vice Admiral Turner Joy (at right with Burke in Korea), Commander, Naval Forces Far East, to serve at his head-quarters in Tokyo as deputy chief of staff. Arriving on 3 September, Burke worked to organize the rapidly ex panding headquarters to oversee combat operations. Burke also served as the CNO's eyes and ears in the Far East, sending Sherman regular "planning reports" on top-secret "Blue Flag" Navy radio channels.
