Elmo Russell Zumwalt Jr (1920 - 2000)

Born 29 Nov 1920 in City and County of San Francisco, California, USA

Ancestors

Died 2 Jan 2000 at age 79 in Durham, Durham County, North Carolina, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Deena Cross [send private message]

Biography

Elmo Zumwalt Jr is Notable.

Elmo Russell Zumwalt Jr. was born in San Francisco on Nov. 29, 1920, the son of two county doctors, Elmo Russell Zumwalt and Frances Pearl (Frank) Zumwalt. He was raised in Tulare, California.^[1]

Zumwalt graduated from the Naval Academy in 1942 and began service as an Ensign on the USS Phelps. He was in the Pacific theatre during World War II rising to the rank of Lieutenant in 1944. He served on a destroyer in the Battle of Leyte Gulf during World War II earning a Bronze Star. Following the war he served as prize commander of a Japanese gunboat working to disarm Japanese Army units in China. He met Mouza Coutelais-du-Roche at a dinner party at the home of her aunt and uncle in Shanhai, October 1945. They married three weeks later..^[1] He was soon reassigned to destroyer service, then to the Naval Officer Reserve Training School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill where he was an Assistant Professor of Naval Science.^[2]

Zumwalt was made Commanding Officer of the Destroyer USS Tillis, 1951, during the Korean Conflict, and later in the Conflict he served as Navigator on the Battleship the USS Wisconsin. From then on "he was assigned to several Commanding Officer posts on Destroyers, with intermediate terms at the Naval War College and at the Pentagon, Zumwalt achieved the rank of Rear Admiral by July 1965."^[2] At age 44, he was the youngest officer to attain the rank of rear admiral.^[1]

As Rear Admiral he was appointment Commander of Cruiser - Destroyer Flotilla SEVEN, but not for long. Shortly after he was tasked to start, and be the first Director of the Chief of Naval Operations, Systems Analysis Group. But, shortly he was named Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Vietnam, September 1968, after being promoted to vice admiral.^[2]

In 1970 Vice Admiral Zumwalt became the youngest man to serve as the Navy's top-ranking officer^[2] when selected by President Richard M. Nixon as Chief of Naval Operations April 1970 and elevated to Admiral. Admiral Zumwalt served as Chief of Naval Operations from May 1970 until his retirement..^[1]

"Admiral Zumwalt, who had opposed American ground involvement in Vietnam since the early 1960's and would later write how I thought it was the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, oversaw the brown water Navy. That was a flotilla of more than 1,000 patrol boats deployed in the Mekong Delta to deny Vietcong and North Vietnamese soldiers use of of the waterways. Returning to Washington, Admiral Zumwalt took on another task -- remaking the Navy."^[1]

Admiral Zumwalt called his Equal Opportunity in the Navy directive, the most important directive he had issued. As chief of naval operations in the early 1970's he ordered the Navy to end racial discrimination. He permitted women to serve on ships. He is considered to have modernized the Navy, although criticized by some for endangering discipline by creating a permissive atmosphere. He retired from the Navy July 1974 after a distinguished and controversial career of over 34 years.^[1]

After his retirement Admiral Zumwalt, was appointed to the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) in September 1998, by President Clinton, and served on the Board until his death. President Clinton also appointed Zumwalt to be a member of the Special Oversight Board for the Department of Defense Investigations of Gulf War Chemical and Biological Incidents. In his retirement Zumwalt founded the Marrow Foundation as director of the National Marrow Donor Program, also the Vietnam Assistance to the Handicapped Foundation, and was a member of the International Consortium for Research on the Health Effects of Radiation. Zumwalt "worked diligently on efforts to determine the exact cause of chemical exposure related diseases, how they could be prevented, and what could be done to develop effective treatments."^[2]

Throughtout his Naval career he had earned numerous awards and commendations including the Navy Unit Citation, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V", the Bronze Star with Combat "V", the Legion of Merit with one Gold Star, and the Distinguished Service Medal with two Gold Stars. In 1998, President Clinton awarded Zumwalt the Medal of Freedom - the U.S.'s highest civilian award.^[2]

Admiral Zumwalt died of complications from surgery related to Mesoththelioma in 2000, at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He and his wife, Mouza, are buried at the United States Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Goldstein, Richard. Obituary (The New York Times: 3 January 2000)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5} “Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr. - PFIAB - Collection Finding Aid”, Clinton Digital Library, accessed January 26, 2021. note: Inventory for FOIA Request 2006 - 1015, 19 folders 644 pages. Records relating to Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. and his service on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.

See also:

• Gall, Sandy. "In the Walk of Life, the Shared Path Leads to Achievement – Admiral Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt’s Legacy". The Sextant. (online database: 11 October 2016)
• "Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr.".Modern Biographical Files in the Navy Department Library . Naval History and Heritage Command (online database)
• "Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr." Chiefs of Naval Operations. Naval History and Heritage Command (online database)
• Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Elmo Zumwalt
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 9 February 2019), memorial page for Adm Elmo Russell Zumwalt, Jr (29 Nov 1920–2 Jan 2000), Find A Grave Memorial no. 20677, citing United States Naval Academy Cemetery, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
• Carrier, Helynn M. and Nita Zumwalt Robbin. One Zumwalt Family - Zumalt, Zeumalt, Zum Wald, Zumwault, Sommalt: many descendants of the eleven children of Andrew Zumwalt (1698-1765) and his two wives. (San Jose, California: H.M. Carrier, 1 January 2000). p. 204
• Zumwalt, Elmo R., Jr., Elmo R. Zumwalt, III, and John Pekkanen. My Father, My Son. (Macmillan Publishing Company: 1986). note: Made into a television movie with the same title.