Elmo Zumwalt | |
|---|---|
Zumwalt in August 1970 | |
| Nickname | "Bud" |
| Born | (1920-11-29)November 29, 1920 |
| Died | January 2, 2000(2000-01-02) (aged 79) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1942–1974 |
| Rank | Admiral |
| Unit | |
| Commands |
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| Battles / wars | |
| Awards |
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| Spouses | |
Elmo Russell "Bud"Zumwalt Jr. (November 29, 1920 – January 2, 2000) was aUnited States Navy officer and the youngest person to serve asChief of Naval Operations. As anadmiral and later the 19th Chief of Naval Operations, Zumwalt played a major role in United States military history, especially during theVietnam War. A decorated war veteran, Zumwalt reformed United States Navy personnel policies in an effort to improve enlisted life and ease racial tensions. After he retired from a 32-year navy career, he launched anunsuccessful campaign for theUnited States Senate.
Zumwalt was born inSan Francisco, California, the son of Elmo Russell Zumwalt, and his wife, Frances Pearl (née Frank) Zumwalt, both country doctors.[1][2] Frances was raisedJewish, the daughter of Julius and Sarah Frank ofBurlington, Vermont. His family moved toTulare, California, where he grew up. She became estranged from her parents for marrying outside the faith, as the Zumwalts were Christians.[3][failed verification]
Zumwalt, anEagle Scout and recipient of theDistinguished Eagle Scout Award from theBoy Scouts of America, attendedTulare Union High School inTulare, California, where he became thevaledictorian, and Rutherford Preparatory School inLong Beach, California.
Zumwalt had planned to become a doctor like his parents, but in 1939, he was accepted to theUnited States Naval Academy (USNA) atAnnapolis, Maryland. As amidshipman 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 wascommissioned as anensign on June 19, 1942. He also received an honorary degree fromTexas Tech University.
Zumwalt was assigned toUSS Phelps, 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 boardUSS Robinson. On this ship, he was awarded theBronze Star Medal withValor device for "heroic service as Evaluator in the Combat Information Center ... in action against enemy Japanese battleships during theBattle 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 theprize crew officer of theAtaka, a 1,200-ton Japanese rivergunboat with a crew of 200. In this capacity, he took the first American-controlled ship since the outbreak of World War II up theHuangpu River toShanghai, China. There, they helped to restore order and assisted in disarming the Japanese.
Zumwalt next served asexecutive officer of the destroyerUSS Saufley, and in March 1946, was transferred to the destroyerUSS Zellars, as executive officer and navigator.
In January 1948, Zumwalt was assigned to theNaval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit of theUniversity of North Carolina, where he remained until June 1950. That same month, he assumed command ofUSS Tills, a destroyer escort that was commissioned in a reserve status. TheTills was placed in full active commission atCharleston Naval Shipyard on November 21, 1950, and he continued to command her until March 1951, when he joined the battleshipUSS Wisconsin as navigator and served with the ship in operations in Korea.
Detached from USSWisconsin in June 1952, he attended theNaval War College,Newport, Rhode Island, and in June 1953, he reported as head of the Shore and Overseas Bases Section,Bureau of Naval Personnel, Navy Department,Washington, D.C. He also served as officer and enlisted requirements officer, and as action officer on Medicare legislation. Completing that tour of duty in July 1955, he assumed command of the destroyerUSS Arnold J. Isbell, participating in two deployments with theUnited States Seventh Fleet. In this assignment, he was commended by the Commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Forces,United States Pacific Fleet, for winning the Battle Efficiency Competition for his ship and for winning Excellence Awards in Engineering, Gunnery, Anti-Submarine Warfare, and Operations. In July 1957, he returned to the Bureau of Naval Personnel for further duty. In December 1957, he was transferred to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Personnel and Reserve Forces), and served as special assistant for naval personnel until November 1958, then as special assistant and naval aide until August 1959.
Ordered to the first ship built from the keel up as aguided missile frigate,USS Dewey, built at theBath (Maine) Iron Works, he assumed command of that frigate at her commissioning in December 1959, and commanded it until June 1961. During the period of his command,Dewey earned the Excellence Award in Engineering, Supply, Weapons, and was runner-up in the Battle Efficiency Competition. He was a student at theNational War College, Washington, D.C., during the 1961–1962 class year. In June 1962, he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs), Washington, D.C., where he served first as desk officer for France, Spain, and Portugal, then as director of arms control and contingency planning for Cuba. From December 1963 until June 21, 1965, he served as executive assistant and senior aide to the HonorablePaul H. Nitze,Secretary of the Navy. For duty in his tour in the offices of theSecretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy, he was awarded theLegion of Merit.
After his selection for the rank ofrear admiral, Zumwalt assumed command of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla Seven on 24 July 1965 in San Diego.[4] He then served as Director, Systems Analysis Division, OPNAV (OP-96) from August 1966 to August 1968.[5] In September 1968, he became CommanderNaval Forces Vietnam and Chief of the Naval Advisory Group, United StatesMilitary Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV) and was promoted to vice admiral in October 1968. Zumwalt was the Navy adviser to GeneralCreighton Abrams, Commander, MACV. Zumwalt always spoke very highly of Abrams, and said that Abrams was the most caring officer he had ever known.
Zumwalt's command was not ablue-water force, like the Seventh Fleet; it was abrown-water unit: he commanded the flotilla ofSwift Boats that patrolled the coasts, harbors, and rivers of Vietnam. Among the swift-boat commanders were his son Elmo Russell Zumwalt III and later future senator and secretary of stateJohn Kerry. Among his other forces were Task Force 115, the Coastal Surveillance Force, Task Force 116, the River Patrol Force and Task Force 117, the joint Army-NavyMobile Riverine Force.[6]

PresidentRichard Nixon nominated Zumwalt to beChief of Naval Operations in April 1970. Upon being relieved as Commander Naval Forces Vietnam on May 15, 1970, he was awarded a secondNavy Distinguished Service Medal for exceptionally meritorious service.
Zumwalt assumed duties as Chief of Naval Operations and was promoted to full admiral on July 1, 1970, and quickly began a series of moves intended to reduce racism and sexism in the Navy. These were disseminated in Navy-wide communications known as "Z-grams". These included orders authorizing beards (sideburns, mustaches, and longer groomed hair were also acceptable) and introducing beer-dispensing machines to barracks.
Zumwalt instituted the 'Mod Squad'—Destroyer Squadron 26 and later 31—to give promising young officers early command experience. Billets were a rank lower than normal.
Zumwalt reshaped the Navy's effort to replace large numbers of aging World War II-era vessels, a plan called "High-Low". Instituted over the resistance of AdmiralHyman Rickover and others, High-Low sought to balance the purchase of high-end, nuclear-powered vessels with low-end, cheaper ones—such as theSea Control Ship—that could be bought in greater numbers. Rickover, the 'Father of the Nuclear Navy', preferred buying a few major ships to buying many ordinary ones. Zumwalt proposed four kinds of warships to fit the plan; in the end, only thePegasus class of missile patrol boats and theOliver Hazard Perry-class ofguided missile frigates became reality, and only six of the planned 100+Pegasus-classhydrofoils were built. TheOliver Hazard Perry class stood as the most numerous class of United States' warships since World War II until the advent of theArleigh Burke-classdestroyers. Zumwalt was the last Chief of Naval Operations to live atNumber One Observatory Circle before it became the official residence of thevice president. For Zumwalt, not pleased with the choice, this was reason enough to challenge Virginia SenatorHarry F. Byrd Jr. in the 1976 Senate election in Virginia.[7]
Elmo Zumwalt Jr. retired from the Navy on July 1, 1974, aged 53.[8]
"Z-gram" was the semi-official title for policy directives issued by Elmo Zumwalt as Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).[9] Many of these directives were efforts to reform outdated policies potentially contributing to difficulties recruiting and retaining qualified naval personnel during the period of United States withdrawal from theVietnam War.
After he retired, Zumwalt wroteOn Watch: a Memoir, published by Quadrangle Books in 1976. It reviews his Navy career and includes reprints of all the Z-grams he issued as CNO.
Also in1976, Zumwalt unsuccessfully ran as aDemocratic candidate for theUnited States Senate fromVirginia, and was defeated by incumbent independent senatorHarry F. Byrd Jr. by a 57% to 38% result. Later, he held the presidency of the American Medical Building Corporation inMilwaukee, Wisconsin.
While serving in Shanghai in 1945, Zumwalt met and married Mouza Coutelais-du-Roche, whose French-Russian family was living there. She returned with him to the United States. They had four children: Elmo Russell Zumwalt III; James Gregory Zumwalt; Ann F. Zumwalt Coppola; and Mouzetta C. Zumwalt-Weathers.
Zumwalt's eldest son, Elmo Zumwalt III, served as alieutenant on one of Zumwalt's patrol boats during the Vietnam War. In January 1983, he was diagnosed withlymphoma, and in 1985 it was then discovered he also hadHodgkin's disease.[11] In addition, his grandson Elmo Russell Zumwalt IV had been born in 1977 with learning disabilities. Admiral Zumwalt and his family were convinced that both son and grandson were victims ofAgent Orange, which the admiral had ordered to be sprayed over the Mekong Delta to kill vegetation and drive "the Viet Cong back 1,000 yards off the water's edge".[11]
In an article published inThe New York Times in 1986, Elmo Zumwalt III said:
I am a lawyer and I don't think I could prove in court, by the weight of the existing scientific evidence, that Agent Orange is the cause of all the medical problems – nervous disorders, cancer and skin problems – reported by Vietnam veterans, or of their children's severe birth defects. But I am convinced that it is.[11]
Admiral Zumwalt and his son collaborated with writerJohn Pekkanen to create the bookMy Father, My Son, published by MacMillan in September 1986, where they discussed the family tragedy of his son's battle with cancer. In 1988, the book was made into a TV movie with the same name, starringKarl Malden as the admiral andKeith Carradine as his son.[12] Elmo Zumwalt III died as the result of his cancer on August 14, 1988, at the age of 42,[11] three months after the TV movie was shown.[12]
During his son's illness in the early 1980s, Admiral Zumwalt was very active in lobbying Congress to establish a national registry of bone marrow donors. Such donors serve patients who do not have suitably matched bone marrow donors in their families. Though his son ultimately was able to receive a transplant from his own sister, many patients do not have close relatives who are able and willing to help in this way. As such, his efforts were a major factor in the founding of theNational Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) in July 1986. Admiral Zumwalt was the first chairman of the NMDP's board of directors.
In his later years, Zumwalt resided inArlington County, Virginia.

Zumwalt died on January 2, 2000,[13] aged 79, at theDuke University Medical Center inDurham, North Carolina, frommesothelioma. His funeral service was held at theNaval Academy Chapel. In his eulogy President Bill Clinton called Zumwalt "the conscience of the United States Navy".[14]
The United States Navy'sDD(X)guided missile destroyer program has been named the Zumwalt class in his honor,[15] and its lead ship,USS Zumwalt, bears his name by Navy tradition.
In 2013, the Mesothelioma Center for Excellence at theWest Los Angeles VA Medical Center was renamed the Elmo Zumwalt Treatment & Research Center. It specializes in mesothelioma research, particularly for veterans who may have been exposed to asbestos during their service.
| Ensign | Lieutenant, Junior Grade | Lieutenant | Lieutenant Commander | Commander | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O-1 | O-2 | O-3 | O-4 | O-5 | O-6 |
| June 19, 1942 | May 1, 1943 | July 1, 1944 | April 1, 1950 | February 1, 1955 | July 1, 1961 |
| Rear Admiral (lower half) | Rear Admiral (upper half) | Vice Admiral | Admiral |
|---|---|---|---|
| O-7 | O-8 | O-9 | O-10 |
| Never Held | July 1, 1965 | October 1, 1968 | July 1, 1970 |
| Navy Distinguished Service Medal with two goldaward stars | |
| Legion of Merit with gold award star | |
| Bronze Star withValor device | |
| Navy Commendation Medal with Valor device | |
| Navy Unit Commendation | |
| China Service Medal | |
| American Defense Service Medal with bronze"A" Device | |
| American Campaign Medal | |
| Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one silver and two bronzecampaign stars | |
| World War II Victory Medal | |
| Navy Occupation Service Medal with "ASIA" clasp | |
| National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star | |
| Korean Service Medal with two bronze service stars | |
| Vietnam Service Medal with one silver and two bronze service stars | |
| Navy Expert Rifle Marksmanship Ribbon |
| Presidential Medal of Freedom[13] |
| Grand Cross of theOrder of May (Naval Merit), (Argentina) | |
| Commander of theOrder of Léopold, (Belgium) | |
| Grade of High Officer of theOrder of Naval Merit, (Bolivia) | |
| Grand Officer of theOrder of Naval Merit, (Brazil) | |
| Grand Cross of theOrder of the Southern Cross, (Brazil) | |
| Order of Merit, (Chile) | |
| Grand Officer of theOrder of Naval Merit Admiral Padilla, (Colombia) | |
| Grand Cross with Silver Breast Star of theOrder of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez and Mella, (Dominican Republic) | |
| Commander of theLegion of Honour, (France) | |
| Grand Cross, Second Class of theOrder of Merit, (Germany) | |
| Grand Cross of theOrder of George I, (Greece) | |
| Bintang Jalasena, First Class (Indonesia) | |
| Grand Cross of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic, (Italy) | |
| Grand Cordon of theOrder of the Rising Sun, (Japan) | |
| Order of Military Merit, Third Class (Republic of Korea) | |
| Order of National Security Merit, Tong-Il Medal (Republic of Korea) | |
| Grand Officer of theOrder of Orange-Nassau (with Swords), (Netherlands) | |
| Grand Cross of theRoyal Norwegian Order of St. Olav, (Norway) | |
| Commander Grand Cross of theRoyal Order of the Sword, (Sweden) | |
| Order of Naval Merit, First Class (Venezuela) | |
| National Order of Vietnam, Third Class (Republic of Vietnam) | |
| Republic of Vietnam Navy Distinguished Service Order, First Class (Republic of Vietnam) | |
| Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm (Republic of Vietnam) | |
| Chuong My Medal, 1st Class | |
| Philippine Liberation Medal with two service stars (Philippines) | |
| United Nations Korea Medal | |
| Vietnam Campaign Medal (Republic of Vietnam) | |
| Korean War Service Medal (Republic of Korea) |
| Philippine Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines) | |
| Korean Presidential Unit Citation (Republic of Korea) | |
| Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation (Republic of Vietnam) | |
| Vietnam Civil Actions Unit Citation (Republic of Vietnam) |
| Distinguished Eagle Scout Award |
This articlecontains alist of miscellaneous information. Please helpimprove it byrelocating relevant information into other sections or articles.(July 2022) |
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chief of Naval Operations 1970–1974 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromVirginia (Class 1) 1976 | Succeeded by |