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William J. Crowe
Adm William Crowe Jr.JPG
60th United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom
In office
June 2, 1994 – September 20, 1997
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Raymond G. H. Seitz
Succeeded by Philip Lader
10th Chair of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board
In office
January 20, 1993 – May 26, 1994
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Bobby Ray Inman (acting)
Succeeded by Les Aspin
5th Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board
In office
January 20, 1993 – May 26, 1994
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by James R. Thompson
Succeeded by Anthony S. Harrington
11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
In office
October 1, 1985 – September 30, 1989
President Ronald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Deputy Robert T. Herres
Preceded by John William Vessey Jr.
Succeeded by Colin Powell
12th Commander of United States Pacific Command
In office
July 1, 1983 – September 18, 1985
President Ronald Reagan
Preceded by Robert L. J. Long
Succeeded by Ronald J. Hays
Personal details
Born (1925-01-02)January 2, 1925
La Grange, Kentucky, U.S.
Died October 18, 2007(2007-10-18) (aged 82)
Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Political party Republican
Education United States Naval Academy (BS)
Stanford University (MEd)
Princeton University (MA, PhD)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service  United States Navy
Years of service 1946–1989
Rank Admiral
Commands Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
United States Pacific Command
United States Naval Forces Europe
Allied Forces Southern Europe
Submarine Division 31
USS Trout (SS-566)
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Awards Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal (3)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit (3)
Bronze Star Medal
Air Medal (7)
Presidential Medal of Freedom

William James Crowe Jr. (January 2, 1925 – October 18, 2007) was a United States Navy admiral and diplomat who served as the 11th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, and as the ambassador to the United Kingdom and Chair of the Intelligence Oversight Board under President Bill Clinton.

Early life and education

Crowe was born in La Grange, Kentucky on January 2, 1925. At the beginning of the Great Depression, Crowe's father moved the family to Oklahoma City. In June 1946, Crowe completed a war-accelerated course of study and graduated with the Class of 1947 from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

Career

From 1954 to 1955, Crowe served as assistant to the naval aide of President Dwight 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. From 1956 to 1958, Crowe served as executive officer of the submarine USS Wahoo (SS-565).

In 1958, he served as an aide to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. In 1960, Crowe took command of USS Trout (SS-566), homeported in Charleston, South Carolina, and served as commanding officer of that ship until 1962. From there, Crowe earned a master's degree in education at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. After turning down an invitation from Admiral Hyman G. Rickover to enter the Navy's nuclear power program, Crowe earned a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University in 1965 after completing a doctoral dissertation titled "The policy roots of the modern Royal Navy 1946-1963."

During the Vietnam War he was the senior adviser to the Vietnamese Riverine Force. In 1969, he took command of Submarine Division 31, homeported in San Diego, California.

A long string of assignments followed:

  • 1967 – Head of East Asia Pacific Branch, Politico-Military Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
  • 1970 – Senior adviser to the Vietnamese Navy Riverine Force
  • 1973 – promoted to rear admiral and named Deputy Director, Strategic Plans, Policy, Nuclear Systems, and NSC Affairs Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
  • 1975 – Director, East Asia and Pacific Region, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • 1976 – Commander, Middle East Force (COMMIDEASTFOR)
  • 1977 – promoted to vice admiral and named Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, Plans, Policy and Operations
  • 1980 – promoted to admiral and named Commander-in-Chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe (CINCSOUTH)
  • 1983 – as CINCSOUTH, named Commander-in-Chief, United States Naval Forces Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR)
  • 1983 – Commander-in-Chief, United States Pacific Command (CINCPAC)

On July 10, 1985, Crowe was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as Chairman 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 the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986, where he as chairman became (not the collegial body of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), by statute, the principal military adviser to the president, the National Security Council, and the Secretary of Defense. On October 1, 1989, Army General Colin L. Powell succeeded him as CJCS.

Later life and death

On March 16, 1989, he made a cameo appearance in the “Hot Rocks” episode of Cheers.

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 endorsed Bill Clinton in the presidential election of 1992. President Clinton named Crowe chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in 1993. In 1994, Clinton appointed Crowe the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, and he served in that capacity until 1997.

Crowe sat on the boards of Texaco, Merrill Lynch, Pfizer, Norfolk Southern Corporation, and General Dynamics. He also served on the board of Emergent BioSolutions (then Bioport), a company that provided controversial anthrax 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 the United States Naval Academy from 2000 to 2007.

In 2004, Crowe was among 27 retired diplomats and military commanders called Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change who publicly said the administration of President George W. Bush did not understand the world and was unable to handle "in either style or substance" the responsibilities of global leadership.

On June 16, 2004, the former senior diplomats and military commanders issued a statement against the Iraq War.

Death

Crowe died on October 18, 2007, at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland at age 82 due to a heart condition.

His funeral was held on October 31, 2007, at the Naval Academy chapel; Bill Clinton spoke. Crowe was buried later that day in the United States Naval Academy Cemetery.

As of 2016, he is one of only two deceased former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to not be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His predecessor, John William Vessey Jr. died in 2016 and was buried in Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Little Falls, Minnesota.

Legacy

In 2008, a fellowship was established in Crowe's honor at the University of Kentucky's Patterson 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, the International Programs Center at the University of Oklahoma established the Admiral William J. Crowe Jr. Award. This award is presented to an outstanding International 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.

Personal life

Crowe married to Shirley Grennell in 1954. They had three children.

Dates of rank

Ensign Lieutenant junior grade Lieutenant Lieutenant commander Commander Captain
O-1 O-2 O-3 O-4 O-5 O-6
US Navy O1 insignia.svg US Navy O2 insignia.svg US Navy O3 insignia.svg US Navy O4 insignia.svg US Navy O5 insignia.svg US Navy O6 insignia.svg
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* US Navy O8 insignia.svg US Navy O9 insignia.svg US Navy O10 insignia.svg
June 1, 1973 August 1, 1977 September 26, 1977 June 6, 1980
  • At the time of Admiral Crowe's promotion, all rear admirals wore two stars, but the rank was divided into an "upper" and "lower half" for pay purposes

Awards and recognition

Crowe was awarded Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) honorary degrees from numerous universities, including University of Liverpool, The George Washington University, and Knox College.

In 1986, he received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Bernard W. Rogers, USA.

In 1989, Crowe appeared in an episode of the television sitcom Cheers (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.

On 1990, he was the first recipient of the Distinguished Sea Service Award of Naval Order of the United States.

In 1993, Crowe published his memoirs in the book The Line of Fire: From Washington to the Gulf, the Politics and Battles of the New Military.

Crowe received four Defense 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". Following his retirement from the Navy, he was awarded a 2000 Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor.

Awards and decorations

Badges
Submarine Officer badge.jpg Submarine Warfare Insignia
Joint Chiefs of Staff seal.svg Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge
U.S. military decorations
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters)
Gold star
Gold star
Navy Distinguished Service Medal (with two gold stars)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Gold star
Gold star
Legion of Merit (with 2 gold award stars)
V
Bronze Star with Valor device
Award numeral 7.png Air Medal with bronze award numeral 7 (strike/flight awards)
U.S. Unit Awards
Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg Navy Unit Commendation
U.S. non-military decorations
Presidential Medal of Freedom (ribbon).svg Presidential Medal of Freedom
U.S. service and campaign awards
China Service Medal ribbon.svg China Service Medal
American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation ribbon.svg Navy Occupation Service Medal with Pacific clasp
Bronze star
National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star
Bronze star
Vietnam Service Medal with 1 campaign star
Humanitarian Service ribbon.svg Humanitarian Service Medal
Foreign military decorations, unit and campaign awards
Order of the Crown of Thailand - 1st Class (Thailand) ribbon.svg Knight Grand Cross of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
Cordone di gran Croce OMRI BAR.svg
Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
Tong-il Security Medel Ribbon.svg Republic of Korea Order of the National Security Merit Tong-Il Medal
Vietnam Navy Distinguished Service Order Ribbon-Second Class.svg Republic of Vietnam Navy Distinguished Service Order 2nd Class
Bronze-service-star-3d-vector.svg Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm and Bronze Star
Vietnam gallantry cross unit award-3d.svg Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation
Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal ribbon-First Class.svg Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal First Class
Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
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