In Destroyers at War Adm. James L. Holloway III, the twentieth Chief of Naval Operations, recalls his early life and service on destroyers during the final campaigns of the War in the Pacific. As the assistant gunnery officer in USS Ringgold (DD 500) and the gun boss in USS Bennion (DD 665), he took part in shore bombardment and anti-air radar picket missions during the assaults on Saipan, Tinian, Peleliu, and Leyte. He provides detailed explanations of how gunnery systems worked on small combatants as well as gripping accounts of combat events, including the climactic battle of Surigao Strait--the last battleship-vs.-battleship clash in history--where a Bennion torpedo scored a fatal blow against the Japanese battleship Yamashiro. This book illuminates not only the experiences of a junior officer during this crucial period of World War II, but also the young life of an exceptional man. It includes Holloway's account of his three years at the U.S. Naval Academy as the world was going to war, providing insights into the preparation and training of sailors by a Navy that badly needed officers. Since Holloway and his father--James L. Holloway Jr.--were the only father-son combination to serve on active duty as four-star admirals, Destroyers at War also explores their relationship and highlights the senior Holloway's career as his son worked his way through the ranks. Admiral Holloway, who died in 2019, and his father, who passed away thirty-five years earlier, were among the most influential naval officers of the twentieth century. With David Winkler providing this heretofore unpublished material, Holloway will be one of the last members of the Greatest Generation to publish a firsthand account of World War II.