Touch a thistle timidly, and it pricks you; grasp it boldly, and its spines crumble.
                                                                       – Admiral William Halsey

About Admiral William Halsey

American Admiral William "Bull" Halsey Jr. won a Navy Cross during World War I and led the Third Fleet against Japan in World War II. He was born in New Jersey in 1882. After serving on battleships and torpedo craft in World War I, he went back to school at age 52 to become a naval aviator. General MacArthur called Halsey the greatest fighting admiral of World War II. His motto was, "Hit hard, hit fast, hit often." The Japanese signed their surrender on his flagship. He died in 1959.