Arleigh Albert Burke was born on 19 October 1901 on a farm near Boulder, Colorado. Appointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1919, he was commissioned in the rank of Ensign in June 1923. From then until April 1928 he was an officer in the battleship Arizona. Burke was next assigned to the Fleet Base Force flagship Procyon, in which he was Flag Lieutenant and Force Personnel Officer. Resuming his formal education in June 1929, Lieutenant Burke received a Master's Degree from the University of Michigan two years later, then served in the heavy cruiser Chester. He spent the middle 1930s on the Base Force staff and at the Bureau of Ordnance in Washington, D.C. In 1937 he joined the destroyer Craven and, in June 1939, took command of USS Mugford.
Between mid-1940 and late 1942 Burke was assigned to the Naval Gun Factory as an ordnance inspector. Promoted to Commander during that time, he next commanded two destroyer divisions and Destroyer Squadron 12 in the south Pacific combat zone. He was given temporary promotion to Captain in mid-1943 and in October of that year took command of Destroyer Squadron 23. Flying his flag in the destroyer Charles Ausburne, he demonstrated initiative and tactical mastery in a series of engagements. In March 1944, Burke became Chief of Staff to Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, who led the Pacific Fleet's fast carrier task forces. With the temporary rank of Commodore, he served with Mitscher until nearly the end of the Pacific War, had a brief tour with the Bureau of Ordnance, and was again Mitscher's Chief of Staff in 1946-1947.
Now recognized as an officer of great potential, during 1947-1949 Captain Burke was assigned to the Navy's General Board, commanded the light cruiser Huntington, and was active in the debate over Armed Forces' roles and missions while serving with the office of the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). He ended the decade and began the next with the Defense Research and Development Board. Soon after the Korean War began Rear Admiral Burke went to Japan to become Deputy Chief of Staff to Commander, Naval Forces, Far East. In May-December 1951 he commanded a cruiser division and participated in the Korean War's vexing armistice negotiations, then returned to Washington to direct the CNO's Strategic Plans Division. For much of 1954 Burke led a Sixth Fleet cruiser division and, at the beginning of 1955, became Commander of the Atlantic Fleet's Destroyer Force.
In May 1955 Rear Admiral Burke was selected as the next Chief of Naval Operations. Quickly promoted to the rank of Admiral, Burke took over as CNO in mid-August. His three two-year terms took the Navy through great operational and technical changes during a time of constant international tension. After retiring from active duty at the beginning of August 1961 he had an active business and civic life, as well as remaining closely involved with the Navy. Admiral Burke resided in Bethesda, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., and later in the Northern Virginia suburbs, where he died on New Year's Day 1996.
USS Arleigh Burke (DDG-51), 1991-____, is named in honor of Admiral Burke.
This page features a special selection of views concerning Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, taken from the broader pictorial coverage on the pages linked below.
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Photo #: 80-G-K-18291 (Color) Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations, Designate Portrait photograph, dated 8 July 1955. He became Chief of Naval Operations on 17 August of that year. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 50KB; 495 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: KN-12924 (Color) Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations Portrait photograph, dated 15 December 1958. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 57KB; 590 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 100261 Ensign and Mrs. Arleigh A. Burke Bedecked in seaweed on a West Coast beach, circa 1923-1925. Ensign Burke was serving in USS Arizona (BB-39) at the time. Collection of Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN (Retired). U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 48KB; 455 x 765 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 59854 Captain Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Commander Destroyer Squadron 23 (seen in profile, left center) Reading on the starboard bridge wing of his flagship, USS Charles Ausburne (DD-570), during operations in the Solomon Islands in 1943-1944. The DesRon 23 "Little Beaver" insignia is painted on on the ship's bridge wing. Note scoreboard painted on the side of Charles Ausburne's Mark 37 gun director, life ring, navigation lights and crewmen on watch, some wearing headphones. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation. Collection of Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 105KB; 740 x 580 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-303981 Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, USN (right), Commander, Task Force 58, Confers with his Chief of Staff, Commodore Arleigh A. Burke (at left), on board TF58's flagship, USS Bunker Hill (CV-13), during operations off Japan in February 1945. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 74KB; 595 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 93205 Captain Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Commanding Officer, USS Huntington (CL-107) Inspecting the ship's crew, circa November 1948. Collection of Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 83KB; 740 x 600 pixels |
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Photo #: 80-G-431393 Rear Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN On board ship, 7 August 1951. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 66KB; 585 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: 80-G-1019527 Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations Smoking a pipe while on the bridge of a ship at sea, circa 1955-1957. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 487KB; 595 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 55816 Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations (at left) With a Third Class Quartermaster on bridge of USS Picking (DD-685), circa 1955-1961. He is holding a Tennessee coffee cup marked with the Confederate battle flag. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 69KB; 740 x 640 pixels |
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Photo #: USN 710496 Rear Admiral William F. Rayborn, USN (left), and Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations Examine a cutaway model of the ballistic missile submarine USS George Washington (SSBN-598), in July 1959. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 60KB; 740 x 610 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-N-710496. |
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Photo #: NH 54900 Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN, Chief of Naval Operations Addresses a U.S. Naval Academy pep rally on 23 November 1960, on the eve of that year's Army-Navy football game. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, from the collections of the Naval Historical Center. Online Image: 95KB; 740 x 620 pixels |
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Photo #: USN 1171128 Admiral Arleigh A. Burke, USN (Retired), former Chief of Naval Operations Photographed at the commissioning of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69), Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia, 18 October 1977. Taken by Chief Photographer's Mate Milt Putnam, USN. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. Online Image: 70KB; 580 x 765 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-N-1171128. |
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For more pictures related to Arleigh Burke, see:
If you want higher resolution reproductions than the "Online Library's" digital images, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Page made 6 January 2006
Caption corrected 31 January 2006