Elmo R. Zumwalt

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Admiral Zumwalt

Elmo Russel Zumwalt junior (/ ˈzʊmwɔːlt /; born November 29, 1920 in San Francisco , California , † January 2, 2000 in Durham , North Carolina ) was an admiral in the US Navy and served from 1970 to 1974 in the final stages of the Vietnam War as 19th . Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).

The highly decorated war veteran Zumwalt reformed the US Navy personnel policy in his efforts to reduce tensions between soldiers of different ethnicities. After retiring after 32 years in the Navy, he unsuccessfully applied for a post as Senator .

biography

Early life and education

Zumwalt was born in San Francisco, California to EH Zumwalt and Frances Zumwalt. Zumwalt, an Eagle Scout and recipient of the Boy Scouts of America's Distinguished Eagle Scout Award , attended Tulare Union High School in Tulare , California, where he was top of the class, and Rutherford Preparatory School in Long Beach . In 1939, Zumwalt was accepted to the US Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis , Maryland . As a midshipman at USNA, he was President of the Trident Society, Vice President of the Quarterback Society, and two-time winner of the speech contest (1940 and 1941). Zumwalt also participated in debates between different colleges and was a company commander (1941) and Regiment - Sergeant (1942). He graduated with honors and was promoted to Ensign on June 19, 1942 .

Second World War

Zumwalt first served on the USS Phelps (DD-360) , a destroyer , during World War II . In August 1943, the Phelps was assigned to Operational Training Command-Pacific in San Francisco for instructions . In January 1944, Zumwalt reported for duty on the USS Robinson . On this ship he was awarded the Bronze Star with Honor of Valor, for heroic service as an observer in the battle center ... in the fight against Japanese battleships during the sea ​​battle in the Gulf of Leyte on October 25, 1944 . After the end of the Second World War in the Pacific in August 1945, Zumwalt served until December 8th as leader of a US prize command on the HIMJS Ataka , a Japanese 1,200-ton gunboat with a crew of 200. In this role he led the first American-controlled ship since the outbreak of World War II up the Huangpu River to Shanghai . There he helped restore order and disarm the Japanese.

Own commands

Zumwalt next served as first officer on the destroyer USS Saufley , and in March 1946 he was transferred as first officer and navigator on the destroyer USS Zellars . In January 1948 he was assigned to the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of North Carolina , where he remained until June 1950. That month he took command of the USS Tills , which was in reserve status. The destroyer escort was returned to active service in the Charleston Naval Port on November 21, 1950 , and Zumwalt commanded it until March 1951 when he transferred to the battleship USS Wisconsin as navigator .

Released from the USS Wisconsin in June 1952, he attended Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island , and in June 1953 enlisted as Head of the Coastal and Overseas Bases Section in the Department of the Navy's Naval Personnel Office in Washington, DC In July 1955 he took command of the destroyer USS Arnold J. Isbell and took part in two assignments to the Seventh Fleet . During this task he decided the competition for combat efficiency for his ship and was commended for this by the Commander in Chief of Destroyers in the Pacific Fleet , as well as for outstanding achievements in the fields of engineering , guns , anti-submarine hunting and operations . In July 1957, he returned to the Naval Personnel Office for another tenure. In December of the same year he was transferred to the office of the Deputy Naval Minister for Personnel and Reserve Forces, where he served as a consultant for naval personnel until November 1958, then as a consultant and naval advisor until August 1959.

Assigned to the first ship designed from Kiel as a guided missile ship - the USS Dewey (DLG-14) built at Bath Iron Works - he took command of this guided missile frigate when it was commissioned in December 1959 and commanded it until June 1961. Under his command, the Dewey won the Engineering, Supply, and Weapons Excellence Award, and was runner-up in the battle for combat efficiency. From 1961 to 1962, Zumwalt was enrolled at the National War College in Washington, DC. In June he was reassigned to the Assistant Secretary of Defense's Office for International Security in Washington, DC, where he initially served as Liaison Officer for France , Spain and Portugal , then as Director of Arms Control and Crisis Planning for Cuba . From December 1963 through June 21, 1965, he served as senior assistant and chief advisor to Secretary of the Navy Paul H. Nitze . He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his services in the office of the Minister of Defense and the Minister of the Navy .

Flag officer

After his promotion to Rear Admiral , he took command of the Seventh Cruiser and Destroyer Flotilla in July 1965. In September 1968 he became the commander of the US naval forces off Vietnam and the superior of the Naval Advisory Group in the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam . In this function he was also the superior of his son Elmo Zumwalt III., Who commanded a patrol boat in the Mekong Delta . Admiral Zumwalt was also a naval advisor to General Creighton Abrams , the commander in chief of all US forces in the Vietnam War . Zumwalt thought very highly of Abrams and said he was the most caring officer he had ever known. He mentioned that the general was the first to congratulate him after his election as Chief of Naval Operations.

Chief of Naval Operations

Zumwalt (3rd from left) with the Joint Chiefs of Staff : Moorer , Abrams , Cushman , Ryan and US Secretary of Defense Laird , 1973.

President Richard Nixon nominated him on April 14, 1970 as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). After his discharge as commander of the naval forces off Vietnam on May 15, 1970, he was awarded the second Navy Distinguished Service Medal for excellence.

The youngest four-star admiral in US Navy history, he took up his post as CNO on July 1, 1970 at the age of 49 and quickly embarked on a series of measures to reduce racism and sexism in the US Navy. These measures, known internally as “Z-grams”, met with considerable resistance from other senior officers in the US Navy and also led to conflicts with the Secretary of the Navy , John Warner .

As part of the “high-low” plan, Zumwalt redesigned the US Navy's endeavors to replace a large number of ships from the Second World War. Against the resistance of Admiral Hyman Rickover and others, "High-Low" was supposed to achieve a balance between the procurement of modern, nuclear-powered ships and simple, inexpensive ships - which could, however, be procured in large numbers.

Zumwalt suggested four types of warships for his plan, but ultimately only the Pegasus class for missile patrol boats and the Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) class for guided missile frigates were implemented. The Perries turned out to be the most popular US warships since World War II until the introduction of the Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) destroyers .

Zumwalt retired on July 1, 1974.

Late years

In 1976 he ran unsuccessfully as a Senate candidate for Virginia . He later served as the presidency of the American Medical Building Corporation in Milwaukee , Wisconsin .

Admiral Zumwalt died on January 2, 2000 at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He lived in Arlington , Virginia . He was married to the former Mouza Coutelais-du-Roche from Harbin ( Manchuria ) and had two sons, Elmo R. Zumwalt III, who died of cancer in 1988 - presumably through contact with Agent Orange during his time in Vietnam - and James Gregory Zumwalt , as well as two daughters, Ann F. Zumwalt and Mouza C. Zumwalt. He was also survived by six grandchildren. Admiral Zumwalt and his son Elmo Zumwalt III. wrote the book "My Father, My Son" together in 1986, in which they discuss their family tragedy. Admiral Zumwalt said his son's illness was almost certainly due to Agent Orange. He also mentioned that his grandson had a severe learning disorder, possibly also due to Agent Orange. The admiral stated that he felt terribly guilty and was ashamed of his decision to spray the defoliant from airplanes during the war. In addition, it should be said that the young Zumwalt did not blame his father and harbored no bitterness towards him.

The first ship in the US Navy's new DD (X) guided missile destroyer program will be named USS Zumwalt . Traditionally, this ship and all of its subsequent sister ships will form the Zumwalt class .

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards:

Others

At 44, Elmo R. Zumwalt was the youngest naval officer in the US Navy to be promoted to Rear Admiral. At 49, he was also the youngest admiral in the Navy, as well as the youngest Chief of Naval Operations. The USN's guided missile destroyer 'Zumwalt' (DDG 1000) named after him entered service on October 15, 2016.

literature

  • Elmo Zumwalt, Jr., Elmo Zumwalt III, John Pekkanen: My Father, My Son . Dell Publishing, New York 1987, ISBN 0-440-15973-3

Web links

Commons : Elmo R. Zumwalt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c34lxcAkW1E
personal data
SURNAME Zumwalt, Elmo R.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zumwalt, Elmo Russel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American military, Chief of Naval Operations
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH San Francisco
DATE OF DEATH January 2, 2000
Place of death Durham , USA