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Destroyer Squadron 23: Combat Exploits of Arleigh Burke's Gallant Force (Bluejacket Books) Paperback – April 15, 2012

by Ken Jones (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,647 ratings
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Called one of the most inspiring stories to come out of World War II when first published in 1959, this epic account of Arleigh Burke's legendary Destroyer Squadron 23 is much more than a story of ships and their tactical deployment. It is a story of men in action--some four thousand of them--and how they lived and fought as a magnificent combat team. Ken Jones not only records their heroic deeds but helps explain what prompted those deeds, including the leadership qualities that fired the men into action. In doing so he brings to life the outfit's fighting spirit--that mysterious combination of qualities inspired by great leaders that wins battles--and the man who led them. Commodore Arleigh Burke was the right man at the right place at the right time; his leadership fused the squadron into a superb combat organization. This book offers a vivid account of the fighting in the South Pacific during one of the most crucial periods of the war. In authentic, minute-by-minute detail drawn from once-secret documents, Jones describes the battles of Tassafaronga, Savo Island, Empress Augusta Bay, and Cape St. George. But the focus throughout is on the men as they meet the test of battle with a common bravery as staunch as any in the Navy's annals. No squadron in any navy is said to have won more battle honors in less time than the Fighting Twenty-third.
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  1. Part of series
    Bluejacket Books
  2. Print length
    320 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Naval Institute Press
  5. Publication date
    April 15, 2012
  6. Dimensions
    6.5 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1557504121
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1557504128
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

History has recorded many instances in which the right man was present at the right time to further a just cause and bring credit to his nation at a critical moment. This book tells the story of such a man and such a time. Commodore Arleigh Burke provided the fire of leadership that fused a squadron of destroyers into a superb combat organization - the gallant squadron of this book - a real fighting outfit with that vital combat ingredient we know as "fighting spirit". Fighting spirit, like leadership, is difficult if not well-nigh impossible to describe - yet that spirit is brought to life in these pages. Here is a narrative that captures the elusive and mysterious combination of human qualities that add up to inspiration, because here is a story of action, human action, and reaction, in the heat of battle.

About the Author

Ken Jones served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and went to Korea as a war correspondent.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Naval Institute Press; First Edition (April 15, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1557504121
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1557504128
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.1 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 1,647 ratings

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Ken Jones

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
1,647 global ratings
Perfectly-introduced Officer Corps involved in the South Pacific Naval battles!
5 Stars
Perfectly-introduced Officer Corps involved in the South Pacific Naval battles!
The whole operation, from the Savo disaster (what we did wrong) through the famous but misplaced quote about 30-knot Burke making turns for 31 knots when it was done right, is described vividly and accurately. The photo shows USS Stephen Potter DD 538 (DesRon 23 1956-8) practicing; I was crew (FT2). You can easily imagine being there and involved! I'd suggest a map or chart of the SW Pacific (the Geographic "Pacific" map (1992) lacks detail. The other minor problem is typos; the transcriber machine must not have liked the original font: it frequently swaps "b" and "h" ("be" suddenly is "he" or "r" gets attached to the next letter as "corner" becomes "comer." Life aboard a small fighting ship is accurately portrayed also. Bob Youngblood
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Top reviews from the United States

Bski
5.0 out of 5 stars Title and description needs work, but still extremely fascinating book. Highly Recommended
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2020
Verified Purchase
The title and description promise to detail the great battles of DesRon 23 (when commanded by Arleigh Burke), which it does, but not in as much detail as one would expect, its about %10 of the book. The descriptions of the battles of Savo Island and Tassafaronga got more coverage than either the battle of Empress Augusta Bay or Cape St. George. While I've read more detail of Burke's battles elsewhere, the coverage of both Savo and Tassafaronga revealed things I had not know before about both battles.

The primary focus of this book is the naval lives of the Captain's of DesRon 23 under Capt. Burke and the day-to-day lives of the men of DesRon 23 during their time the Solomon Islands. This book does an excellent job of this and really details the daily struggles and extremely harsh life of the men of DesRon 23. The details of Savo and Tassafaronga are focused around survivors than ended up in DesRon 23 so we see deep dives into particular slices of the battle we would usually not.

The timeline jumps around a lot and the jumps are not always clearly delimitate, but I found easy to back track them. Usually the timeline jumps when the details of the next captain began.

Really worth the read and a steal at the price.
2 people found this helpful
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Gatordude
4.0 out of 5 stars Good battle accounts, a little florid in describing the Commanders
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2019
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I found this book to be a pretty good read. My dad worked in the design and construction of the DDG-51 destroyers named after Arleigh Burke and I wanted to learn more about their namesake. The book does a good job of describing the battles and what the sailors and officers experienced.
However, the book spends a lot of time trying to explain the background and character habits of Burke and the commanders under him. It ascribes some of personal characteristics of the officers to their ancestry (i.e. Burke's family immigrated from Norway thus his Viking ancestry must show through). That sort of analysis is frowned upon today.
I think a discerning reader will find somethings in this book that may improve their leadership skills. Burke was pro-active and aggressive in action. He was also thoughtful, gamed out potential battle scenarios in his head, and kept his ships constantly ready for action. By developing simple, effective, and action oriented doctrine for his squadron, he made them more effective.
Overall, this was mostly an enjoyable read.
4 people found this helpful
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PGKW
5.0 out of 5 stars PGKW' s review on Destroyer Squadron 23: Combat Exploits of Arlleigh Burke' s Gallant Force
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2022
Verified Purchase
I found this historical work very interesting in that it conveyed details of the actions of the unit. As if you father or favorite Uncle were telling you of his exploits . While serving with squadron at this time of in Solomon's Campaign. No at all like official accounts by history experts. Which start putting you sleep with too many technical facts and too much military jargon!
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Richard Palen
3.0 out of 5 stars LIKE moby Dick, skip large parts in this case most of the first 3/4
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2020
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Worth a skim,and I do mean skim. The author clearly overused the Thesaurus. Wading through his complex vocabulary It seemed fun at first, I'm new to Kindle so I learned to use the dictionary. Soon the number of words not in the dictionary, and not found on line grew out of control. Worth the price, skim up to the Battle of Empess Agusta bay and start reading from there. The author stops all the big words and finally tells a decent story. Some good antidotes and accounts.
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Edward K
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the read.
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2019
Verified Purchase
An excellent book for background... My 500 volume naval history collection was sold or donated when i retired to the tropics, so i'm having fun slowly rebuilding a collection of e-books. I initially thought this was just a history book, but it leans more toward background than a list of events. Its all about Arleigh Burke as Commodore of DesRon 23 in the period mid 1943 to early 1944, and how he built the efficiency and morale of the Squadron to the point of being the only US Navy Destroyer Squadron to receive the Presidential Unit Citation, generally for the success at the Battle of Cape St. George covered extensively in the last part of the book. Most is about Burke, who eventually became Chief of Naval Operations in 1955, and the officers commanding the eight Fletcher class destroyers in the Squadron. It covers a lot of their opinions and histories, and the story of their destroyer commands. It covers quite a bit of their personal interactions with Burke.. Well worth it...
One person found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read, BUT!
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2022
Verified Purchase
This story honoring the men of DesRon 23 was very interesting. However, the author's constant use of archaic and little used words and terms was detracting. It was as if he was using a dictionary and thesaurus published in the 19th century to find obscure words to impress the reader.
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Top reviews from other countries

William John Symcox
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2015
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If you're into to this subject. You can't fault this book.
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