Legendary Admiral Burke Dies At 94

Adm. Arleigh A. Burke, one of the great fighting sailors of World War II, who as chief of Naval Operations became a leading architect of the postwar Navy, and became one of his service’s most revered figures, died of pneumonia Monday at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He was 94.

He gained fame in World War II as the tactical commander of Destroyer Squadron 23 in the Pacific. His flamboyant and brilliant tactics included leading his squadron into battle at “maximum speed” and gained him the nickname “31-Knot Burke.” After the war, he became the only person to serve three terms as chief of Naval Operations - a post he held from 1955 until retiring from active duty in 1961.

As CNO, he led the Navy into the age of jet aircraft, guided missiles and nuclear submarines. He ordered the development and deployment of the Polaris system, on the first of the submarines to be armed with nuclear ballistic missiles. He also ensured that the Navy was equipped to fight peripheral wars with conventional weapons, a settled part of defense doctrine even today.

Upon retiring from active duty, Burke helped found the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University, an influential foreign and defense policy think-tank. Burke served as the center’s director for 15 years.