Editing Elmo Zumwalt (section)

===Naval Academy and World War II===
Zumwalt had planned to become a doctor like his parents, but in 1939, he was accepted to the [[United States Naval Academy]] (USNA) at [[Annapolis, Maryland]]. As a [[midshipman]] at the USNA, he was president of the Trident Society, vice president of the Quarterdeck Society and the two-time winner of the June Week Public Speaking Contest (1940–41). Zumwalt also participated in intercollegiate debating and was a Company Commander (1941) and Regimental Three Striper (1942). He graduated with distinction and was [[Commissioned officer|commissioned]] as an [[ensign (rank)|ensign]] on June 19, 1942. He also received an honorary degree from [[Texas Tech]] University.

Zumwalt was assigned to {{USS|Phelps|DD-360|6}}, a destroyer. In August 1943, ''Phelps'' was detached for instruction in the Operational Training Command-Pacific in San Francisco. In January 1944, Zumwalt reported for duty on board {{USS|Robinson|DD-562|6}}. On this ship, he was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal]] with [[Valor device]] for "heroic service as Evaluator in the Combat Information Center ... in action against enemy Japanese battleships during the [[Battle for Leyte Gulf]], October 25, 1944".

After the end of World War II in August 1945, Zumwalt continued to serve until December 8, 1945, as the [[prize crew]] officer of the [[Japanese gunboat Ataka|''Ataka'']], a 1,200-ton Japanese river [[gunboat]] with a crew of 200. In this capacity, he took the first American-controlled ship since the outbreak of World War II up the [[Huangpu River]] to [[Shanghai]], China. There, they helped to restore order and assisted in disarming the Japanese.