It was the greatest naval engagement of all time—the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In this issue we join the fight—50 years later—with long-time Naval Institute contributor Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, USN (Ret.), author of a new book on the subject just published by HarperCollins. A companion piece by the navigator of the USS Darter at Leyte tells how the submarine ran aground, requiring a dramatic rescue from the USS Dace.
Anyone who saw the 1991 TV series “The Civil War” knows Shelby Foote. Director Ken Burns relied on the julep-voiced writer/historian as his principal commentator for the PBS program. In an interview with Naval History, Foote laments a shortage of Civil War naval material and speaks out on several current historic- preservation controversies.
Also in this issue we feature a history of U.S. Pacific strategy from the Director of Naval History in Washington, a candid look at aviation art, a century-old legend, a chronicle of naval shore bombardment, and a collection of war cartoons from one of the country’s most popular magazines.