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William James Crowe Jr. (January 2, 1925 – October 18, 2007) was aUnited States Navyadmiral and diplomat who served as the 11thchairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under presidentsRonald Reagan andGeorge H. W. Bush, and as the ambassador to theUnited Kingdom and Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board under PresidentBill Clinton.
Crowe was born inLa Grange, Kentucky, on January 2, 1925. At the beginning of theGreat Depression, Crowe's father moved the family toOklahoma City. In June 1946, Crowe completed a war-accelerated course of study and graduated with the Class of 1947 from theUnited States Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Maryland.[citation needed]
From 1954 to 1955, Crowe served as assistant to the naval aide of PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower. While serving in Eisenhower's White House in Spring of 1955, Crowe was tasked with figuring out a way to rid the White House lawn of squirrels, which were impacting the golfing greens Eisenhower had built on the lawn.[1] From 1956 to 1958, Crowe served as executive officer of the submarineUSS Wahoo (SS-565).
In 1958, he served as an aide to the DeputyChief of Naval Operations. In 1960, Crowe took command ofUSS Trout (SS-566), homeported inCharleston, South Carolina, and served as commanding officer of that ship until 1962. From there, Crowe earned a master's degree in education at theStanford Graduate School of Education. After turning down an invitation from AdmiralHyman G. Rickover to enter the Navy's nuclear power program,[2] Crowe earned a Ph.D. in politics fromPrinceton University in 1965 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "The policy roots of the modern Royal Navy 1946-1963."[3]
During theVietnam War he was the senior adviser to the VietnameseRiverine Force. In 1969, he took command of Submarine Division 31, homeported inSan Diego, California.[citation needed]
A long string of assignments followed:
On July 10, 1985, Crowe was appointed by PresidentRonald Reagan to serve asChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS). He continued to serve as CJCS through the Bush administration until 1989, when he retired from active duty. He was the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve under the provisions of theGoldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, where he as chairman became (not the collegial body of theJoint Chiefs of Staff), by statute, the principal military adviser to the president, theNational Security Council, and theSecretary of Defense. On October 1, 1989, Army GeneralColin L. Powell succeeded him as CJCS.
On March 16, 1989, he made a cameo appearance in the “Hot Rocks” episode ofCheers.
After he retired in October 1989, Crowe returned to the University of Oklahoma and William J. Crowe chair in geopolitics. Crowe surprised politicians when he endorsedBill Clinton in thepresidential election of 1992. President Clinton named Crowe chairman of thePresident's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in 1993. In 1994, Clinton appointed Crowe theUnited States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and he served in that capacity until 1997.
Crowe sat on theboards ofTexaco,Merrill Lynch,Pfizer,Norfolk Southern Corporation, andGeneral Dynamics. He also served on the board ofEmergent BioSolutions (then Bioport), a company that provided controversialanthrax vaccinations to the U.S. military in the 1990s. The deal was approved by the Clinton administration, with which Crowe had a previous relationship. At the time of his death, Crowe served as the chairman of the board of Global Options, Inc., an international risk-management and business solutions company headquartered in Washington, D.C.
As he did at the University of Oklahoma in 1990–91, Crowe taught a seminar class on national security at theUnited States Naval Academy from 2000 to 2007.
In 2004, Crowe was among 27 retired diplomats and military commanders calledDiplomats and Military Commanders for Change who publicly said the administration of PresidentGeorge W. Bush did not understand the world and was unable to handle "in either style or substance" the responsibilities of global leadership.[4]
On June 16, 2004, the former senior diplomats and military commanders issued a statement against theIraq War.[5]
Crowe died on October 18, 2007, atBethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland at age 82 due to a heart condition.[6]
His funeral was held on October 31, 2007, at the Naval Academy chapel; Bill Clinton spoke. Crowe was buried later that day in theUnited States Naval Academy Cemetery.[citation needed]
As of 2016, he is one of only two deceased former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to not be buried atArlington National Cemetery. His predecessor, John William Vessey Jr. died in 2016 and was buried in Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery,Little Falls, Minnesota.[citation needed]
In 2008, a fellowship was established in Crowe's honor at the University of Kentucky'sPatterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce to support a former member of the U.S. armed forces who – like Crowe – is shifting from military to diplomatic service.
In 2009, theInternational Programs Center at the University of Oklahoma established theAdmiral William J. Crowe Jr. Award. This award is presented to an outstandingInternational and Area Studies (IAS) graduate every spring semester. The award recognizes an IAS student who has demonstrated high academic achievement, a commitment to public service, and a desire to pursue a career in global affairs.Also in 2009, the Xbox/ PS2 game,Heroes of the Pacific, was released. The main character's name is also William Crowe, though whether or not this was inspired by the real-life Crowe is unknown.
Crowe married to Shirley Grennell in 1954. They had three children.[citation needed]
| Ensign | Lieutenant junior grade | Lieutenant | Lieutenant commander | Commander | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O-1 | O-2 | O-3 | O-4 | O-5 | O-6 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| June 5, 1946 | June 5, 1949 | June 1, 1952 | January 1, 1958 | July 1, 1962 | July 1, 1967 |
| Rear admiral (lower half) | Rear admiral (upper half) | Vice admiral | Admiral |
|---|---|---|---|
| O-7 | O-8 | O-9 | O-10 |
| N/A* |  |  |  |
| June 1, 1973 | August 1, 1977 | September 26, 1977 | June 6, 1980 |
Crowe was awardedDoctor of Laws (LL.D.) honorary degrees from numerous universities, includingUniversity of Liverpool,The George Washington University, andKnox College.
In 1986, he received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, GeneralBernard W. Rogers, USA.[7]
In 1989, Crowe appeared in an episode of the television sitcomCheers (Season 7, Episode 17 "Hot Rocks"), where he played himself, and was accused of stealing the General Manager Rebecca Howe's (Kirstie Alley) diamond earrings.[8]
On 1990, he was the first recipient of theDistinguished Sea Service Award ofNaval Order of the United States.
In 1993, Crowe published his memoirs in the bookThe Line of Fire: From Washington to the Gulf, the Politics and Battles of the New Military.
Crowe received fourDefense Distinguished Service Medals and numerous military decorations from heads of state. In 1998, the American Atatürk Association honored Crowe with the "Atatürk Peace and Democracy Award".[9] Following his retirement from the Navy, he was awarded a 2000Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor.[10][11]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commander ofUnited States Pacific Command 1983–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1985–1989 | Succeeded by |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Chair of thePresident's Intelligence Advisory Board 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theIntelligence Oversight Board 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom 1994–1997 | Succeeded by |
 |  | ||
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