Jesse Oldendorf

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Jesse Oldendorf (1887-1974) retired as an admiral of the United States Navy in 1948, after a distinguished World War II career best known for his victory at the Battle of Surigao Strait. He is known, then, as the last battleship admiral to win a combat engagement; Surigao Strait was the last fight between forces built around battleships, using no air power.

He was a gunnery specialist who, as the battleship became obsolete as the dominant naval force, remained an expert in the use of naval gunfire support.

While he met the Japanese at Surigao Strait with overwhelming force, he commented that his motto was "that of the old-time gambler: never give a sucker an even break."

The Spruance-class destroyer USS Oldendorf (DD-972) was named for him. One might speculate that he would have preferred the way she ended her life, as a target, rather than ingloriously broken into scrap metal.