 |
Elmo ZumwaltAmerican submariner, admiral
Date of Birth: 29.11.1920
Country:  USA |
Content:
- Early Life and Education
- Naval Career
- Vietnam War
- Agent Orange Controversy
- Chief of Naval Operations
- Post-Navy Career
- Additional Reading
Early Life and Education
Elmo Russell Zumwalt Jr. was born on November 29, 1920, in San Francisco, California. His parents were Elmo Russell Zumwalt and Frances Zumwalt, MD. Frances was the daughter of French-Canadian physicians who had orphaned in Vermont as infants during a smallpox epidemic. She was adopted by a family who moved to Los Angeles, where she grew up. Her adoptive parents encouraged her to pursue medicine, like her deceased biological parents.
Zumwalt was an Eagle Scout and received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated from Tulare Union High School in Tulare, California, where he was class valedictorian. He also attended the Rutherford Preparatory School in Long Beach. He initially planned to become a doctor like his parents, but in 1939, Zumwalt was accepted into the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
At the Naval Academy, Zumwalt was the president of the Trident Society, vice president of the Semper Fidelis Society, and twice winner of the Bancroft Hall Speech Contest (1940-41). He also participated in intercollegiate debates and served as company commander (1941) and regimental commander (1942). He graduated with honors and was commissioned as an ensign on June 19, 1942. He also received an honorary degree from Texas Tech University.
Naval Career
Zumwalt joined the crew of the destroyer USS Phelps (DD-360). In August 1943, the Phelps was assigned to the Operational Training Command, Pacific Fleet. In January 1944, Zumwalt reported to the USS Robinson. While serving on the Robinson, he earned the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" for "heroic service as a Combat Information Center analyst" during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 25, 1944.
After the war ended in August 1945, Zumwalt remained in active service. On December 8, he boarded the 1,200-ton Japanese gunboat Ataka, which had served with the United States Third Fleet in 1943. In this capacity, he received the first controlled surrender of a Japanese ship since the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. On board, they helped restore order and disarmed the Japanese. It was during this time that Zumwalt met his future wife, Mouza Coutell du Roche, from a French-Russian family living in Shanghai. They married and returned to the United States together.
Zumwalt later served as executive officer on the destroyer USS Souffley and, in March 1946, transferred to the destroyer USS Zellars as executive officer and navigator. In January 1948, he was assigned to the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit at the University of North Carolina, where he remained until June 1950. That month, he took command of the USS Tillman, a destroyer escort that had been in reserve. The vessel was commissioned at the Charleston Naval Shipyard on November 21, 1950. Zumwalt commanded the Tillman until March 1951, when he joined the battleship USS Wisconsin as navigator.
In June 1952, he was detached from the Wisconsin and, in July 1953, graduated from the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. In June 1953, he was assigned as head of the Shore and Sea Base Branch of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Department of the Navy, in Washington, D.C. He also served as a personnel recruiter and as a legislative liaison for the Office of Surgeon General. Upon completion of this assignment, he assumed command of the destroyer USS Arnold J. Isbell, making two deployments to the United States Seventh Fleet. During this tour, he received a commendatory letter from the commander, Cruiser-Destroyer Force, Pacific Fleet, for the ship's winning of the Battle Efficiency Competition and for receiving excellence awards in engineering, gunnery, anti-submarine warfare, and operations.
Vietnam War
In 1964, Zumwalt was promoted to rear admiral and took command of Cruiser-Destroyer Flotilla 7. In September 1968, he assumed command of Naval Forces, Vietnam, and became commander of the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) team of American military advisors in Vietnam. He was promoted to vice admiral in October 1968. In this capacity, he served as the naval advisor to General Creighton Abrams, the commander of all United States forces in Vietnam. Zumwalt always spoke highly of Abrams, saying that he was the most caring officer he had ever known.
Agent Orange Controversy
Zumwalt's son, Elmo Russell Zumwalt III, a naval officer, died of cancer in 1988 at the age of 42. Zumwalt's grandson, born in 1977, had birth defects. The admiral's son stated in 1986: "As a lawyer, I don't think I would be swayed in court, given the current scientific evidence, that Agent Orange is the cause of all of these health problems - nervous system problems, skin problems, cancers - that we're seeing. But I'm convinced it is."
Chief of Naval Operations
On April 14, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon nominated Zumwalt as Chief of Naval Operations. On May 15, 1970, he was relieved as Commander, Naval Forces, Vietnam, and was awarded the Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Distinguished Service Medal.
Post-Navy Career
Admiration and LegacyAdm. Zumwalt passed away on January 2, 2000, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. The cause of death was mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos during his military service. The disease also claimed the lives of actor Steve McQueen and musician Warren Zevon.
Zumwalt's portrait is displayed in the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, alongside those of John Kerry, Robert McNamara, Warren Christopher, and other American military and political figures, commemorating his visit after the normalization of US-Vietnam relations.
Zumwalt's legacy includes a major shift in the Navy toward promoting diversity. He is credited with breaking down barriers that had long kept women and minorities from serving in top positions within the Navy. He is also remembered for his role in the Vietnam War and for his efforts to raise awareness about the long-term effects of Agent Orange exposure on veterans.
Additional Reading
Zumwalt, Elmo Jr., and John Pekkanen. My Father, My Son.New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986.
"Elmo Zumwalt Jr., Former Navy Chief, Dies at 79." The New York Times, January 4, 2000, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/04/us/elmo-zumwalt-jr-former-navy-chief-dies-at-79.html.
