Devotion to Duty: A Biography of Admiral Clifton A.F. Sprague

by John F. Wukovits

Book Overview

One of the unsung heroes of World War II, Clifton Sprague turned an almost inevitable American defeat at Leyte Gulf into a dramatic and important victory that shortened the war. This study draws on... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557509441
• ISBN13: 9781557509444
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
• Length: 273 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Sprague held the line.

When Kurita's battleships and cruisers appeared above the horizon, any sane naval officer knew that he was done.... Except that sane naval officers knew they had to hold off the enemy by any means at their disposal. And Clifton Sprague had the guts to bluff and fight and charge and bludgeon the Japanese..... until they broke and ran. In the face of the biggest battleship in existence and all of her fellow battleships and cruisers, Clifton Sprague's baby aircraft carriers and tiny destroyers and destroyer escorts roused themselves and attacked--and won. They had no excuse to win, no excuse except audacity and courage and sheer toughness... But they won. Most of them died, pushing their audacity in the face of the Japanese battleships and cruisers, but they won. This is their story, and the story of the sort of man who could lead them, even if his story receded into the untold recesses of history that you didn't know until you read this book. "Ziggy" Sprague rules. Anyone who doesn't know it can choke. This is the story of "Ziggy" Sprague, and how his little collection of lightweights beat the biggest collection of heavyweights in 20th Century history...no kidding. You want to be proud to be an American? Read this book. Or else just die. These men didn't just die. They won.