Ensign to Admiral (Paperback) | Released: 17 Feb 2020

Most people think that a career in the Navy would be a highly structured, routine endeavor. My dad's life proved that it is not so, particularly in the first half of the twentieth century. The world was still being explored and the opportunities for adventure were abundant, with danger being a constant companion.

Albert Jarrell served 34 years as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy. In those decades from 1925 to 1959 he had adventures around the world, but primarily in the Pacific theater. From his early days as an Ensign to his later days as a Flag Officer, he recorded many of his experiences in journals or in letters written home from war zones.

In 1929, while serving as Gunnery Officer on USS Pruitt in the South Pacific, he was told to conduct an exploration of Tawi Tawi to record features that could be useful to future naval navigation. The expedition he was leading became lost and had to enlist the help of local tribes to make their way back to the ship. This event was recorded by him in his journal, along with additional experiences on the various islands.

His travels up the Yangtze River in China were equally well recorded in his journal. Experiences documenting the conditions in China, both southern and northern, and the politics of the country is a history lesson that will not be found in the history books of today. He recorded the events as they happened, not filtered by the political correctness of our current times.

World War Two is recorded from the perspective of a Destroyer Division commander, and later a Destroyer Squadron commander fighting in the Western Pacific. Battles from New Guinea, Leyte, and up to Okinawa are told in his own words, many gleaned from letters to his wife back home. The actions of Destroyer Squadron 55 during the Okinawa Campaign were meticulously recorded by him, and give details of what led up to his being awarded the Navy Cross for his leadership and actions.

Insights into the events leading up to the Korean War, his participation in the Naval support of the war, followed by his work with the United Nations Military Armistice Commission, were found in his letters home. Post-war participation in the UNMAC, and his eventual assignment as its Senior Member, illustrate some of the hurdles that had to be surmounted in order to keep the armistice process moving forward. These records, mostly in his letters, provide details that are not commonly known.

Jarrell's retirement as a Vice Admiral ushered in a time of community service and political activism, culminating in his running for Arizona State Senate. This biography is a compilation of his records, journals of his three children, and remembrances by his wife, Anna. It is a history lesson like none you have read.