On a cloudy morning in 1944 the Japanese battle fleet crashed into a small group of American warships called Taffy Three. The USS Johnston turned into the teeth of the oncoming fleet, unleashing a torrent of torpedoes and gunfire. In the smoke, haze, and rain the Johnston was everywhere, fighting off battleships, cruisers, and a whole line of enemy destroyers. Men passed shells up staircases, turned the rudder by hand when the power failed, and fired the guns till the ammunition rooms flooded. When the captain finally ordered the men to abandon ship, the sailors gathered off the stern, but as...