When J.J. "Jocko" Clark graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy during World War I, he was primed to be a pioneer in one of the great transformations of the U.S. Navy-the change from a surface-only force to one in which aviation played a major role. Under the leadership of the key aviation admirals, William Moffett and Ernest J. King, Clark helped develop carrier doctrine and airplanes until the outbreak of World War II. As captain of the new aircraft carrier Yorktown, Clark provided aggressive leadership in the capture of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands. As a carrier task group commander he was instrumental in the brilliant victory at the Battle of the Philippine Sea and the Okinawa campaign. After the war he fought to save naval aviation from the attacks of other services and went on to serve as Commander of the Seventh Fleet in the Korean War, where his innovative "Cherokee Strikes" played a crucial role.
Worshiped by his crewmen and despised by others for his "call-'em-as-I-see-'em" method of leadership, the flamboyant Jocko Clark was respected by all. Raised in Indian Territory (later Oklahoma), Clark became the highest-ranking naval officer of Native American descent in U.S. history. With access to family papers and as coauthor of Admiral Clark's 1967 autobiography, Clark Reynolds is well situated to bring the last of the colorful, old-school American naval leaders to life. A sixty-minute CD of interviews conducted by the author with Admiral Clark, Arleigh Burke, and other associates is included.
Clark G. Reynolds, a well-known naval historian specializing in carrier warfare, was a longtime history professor at the Naval Academy and at the College of Charleston, where he became a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History. He is the author of several books, including Famous American Admirals and Admiral John H. Towers.
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