Naval History and Heritage Command

Available free in the following format: 508-compliant PDF (4 MB)

Naval veteran and historian Thomas B. Buell describes the contentious post-World War II debates in Congress over the roles and missions of the services in our nation’s national security. The future of the Navy’s aircraft carrier arm remained uncertain after the establishment of an independent Air Force. The infighting between the Navy and the Air Force led to the firing of a chief of naval operations and a public relations war that the Navy was losing. However, when North Korea invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950, the threat to carrier aviation quickly dissipated.

Thanks to the leadership of six influential naval officers, U.S. forces were mobilized and in South Korea within three weeks. During the remainder of that year, these six naval leaders interacted with their Marine, Army, and Air Force counterparts in the planning and successful execution of some of the most demanding operations of the Korean War.

This is book no. 2 in the U.S. Navy in the Korean War Series, updated for digital publication in 2024.