The Distinguished Jewish Naval Leader Who Never Knew He Was

James Zumwalt

Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr. Photo by PHC W. Mason, United States Navy – History.navy.mil, Public Domain, Wikipedia

While most people in history know when they achieve a “first,” some never learn so while still alive.

So goes the story of a “first” accomplished by my late father, Admiral Elmo R. “Bud” Zumwalt, Jr. At age 49, in 1970, he had accomplished a first in the US Navy about which he was well aware.

In that year, he became, and to this day still remains, the youngest admiral ever promoted to head the Navy, becoming its 19th Chief of Naval Operations (CNO).

But years after my father’s death, my cousin, Richard Crowe (who like my father was a Navy and Vietnam war veteran), became intrigued by a 1918 newspaper article he found in the family archives.

The article shared insights about the marriage of my father’s parents, Dr. Elmo R. Zumwalt and his wife Dr. Frances Frank. But the piece left my cousin puzzled by something the reporter observed. Noting a large presence of Zumwalt family members at the wedding, the reporter also made the observation that no Frank family members were present.

To Crowe, something was not right. Why was there no Frank family participation? Crowe became determined to find the answer.

This burning question launched the newphew on an extensive journey to research the Frank family’s past history. It caused him to locate and examine old records and documents, including census records, wills, ship embarkation rosters, birth and death records, etc.

This extensive research enabled Crowe to piece together, with substantial evidence to back it up, a theory foe the Frank family’s “no show.”

The admiral’s mother, Crowe learned, was Jewish. She had been born in that part of Czarist Russia that today is known as Lithuania.

This heritage was something that neither parent ever shared with the admiral as he grew up. He would pass away in 2000—totally oblivious to the fact he had scored yet another “first” in Navy history. Since Jewish heritage is passed through the mother, the admiral was actually the Navy’s first Jewish CNO.

It was Crowe’s theory that the decision by Frances, as a Jew, to marry a gentile ran contrary to her own family’s wishes.

This theory took on extra life after Crowe had come across an interesting will, left by Frances’ mother. Making reference to a mother/daughter discord, the will left a mere pittance to Frances, without ever providing an explanation as to what the discord was.

Crowe’s theory gained further credibility after he located Jewish relatives from Frances’ side of the family. He believed them to be related to the Zumwalt clan. Anxious to learn if they were in fact related and therefore had long-lost members from another branch of the family tree, they willingly submitted to joint DNA testing with Crowe.

The DNA test results provided a conclusive link. And, since one’s Jewish ancestry passes through the female line, Frances had passed her Jewish blood down to her son and his siblings–none of whom ever knew about it during their lifetimes.

Crowe offered a compelling reason why the admiral was never informed.

Crowe rightly believed early 20th century America looked discriminatingly upon those citizens with Jewish blood. Sadly, a strong American Jewish memory of European ostracism still prevailed. Accordingly, it appears to have been Frances’ decision to not burden her children with this knowledge.

Frances died of cancer at age 49 in 1939, taking the secret of her Jewish ancestry to the grave. Despite her death, Elmo R. Zumwalt, Sr. saw no need to betray the secret he had held in trust, along with his wife, by telling his children. He too carried it to his grave when he died in 1972.

After my father’s retirement from the Navy in 1974, with his Jewish heritage still unknown to him, a CNO who was known to be Jewish took office in 1994.

He was the Navy’s 25th CNO; his name was Jeremy “Mike” Boorda. Naval historians claimed two firsts for him at that time: he was the first former enlisted man to become CNO and the first Jewish CNO.

Interestingly, despite the admiral never knowing about his own Jewish heritage, he was always pro-Israel. He is credited with relentlessly fighting for Jewish causes both in and out of uniform.

During his retirement, Zumwalt worked with Boorda, at the request of a group of Jewish citizens, to solicit support for a privately funded Jewish center at the U.S. Naval Academy. The center eventually became a reality.

Additionally, in 2018, upon Israel’s 70th anniversary, the admiral was recognized with a very special honor. Its embassy published a pamphlet listing the 70 Americans who had contributed the most to its nation’s survival.

The admiral was ranked No. 5 in that listing. He was so recognized as, during Israel’s Yom Kippur War in 1973, he had acted when National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger (a Jew) failed to do so. The admiral ensured Israel was rapidly resupplied with the necessary war materials to win that conflict.

Admiral Zumwalt’s contributions to the US and our citizens were recognized by President Bill Clinton in 1998. He presented the admiral with the Nation’s highest civilian award—the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Among other reasons, that Medal was presented to Zumwalt in honor of his wide regard by his men as a “sailor’s sailor.” They affectionately called him the “Sailor’s Admiral.” It was earned by a reputation of drastically improving their quality of life, their rights and the treatment of enlisted personnel.

Speaking after receiving the award, Zumwalt made sure his wife–the former Mouza Coutelais-du-Roche–was recognized for helping him earn it.

Zumwalt died just hours into the new millennium. Clinton spoke at his January 10, 2000 funeral.

Comparing him to another great naval leader—the Navy’s 15th CNO, Admiral Arleigh Burke—Clinton said while historians may well report that “Burke was the spirit of the United States Navy, they will certainly recall that Bud Zumwalt was its conscience.”

It was six months after the admiral’s death that Clinton announced a new class of warship was to be built and named after him. The first ship of that class now sails the seven seas bearing the Zumwalt name, uniquely armed with the hypersonic missile system.

Today, the admiral lies buried at a beautiful location, on the highest ground at the Naval Academy’s cemetery in Annapolis, overlooking the Severn River. Despite a lifetime of recognition, his humble persona really only desired a single word on his headstone to describe his accomplishments: “Reformer.” For wife Mouza, he desired her headstone bear the two words most descriptive of what she meant to him: “His Strength.”

The guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) arrives at its new homeport in San Diego. Zumwalt, the Navy’s most technologically advanced surface ship, will now begin installation of combat systems, testing and evaluation and operation integration with the fleet. Photo by Official U.S. Navy Page from United States of AmericaPetty Officer 3rd Class Emiline/U.S. Navy, Public Domain, Wikipedia

In November 2016, as the USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) was on its way to Baltimore, Maryland for its commissioning, the stealth destroyer sailed up the Severn River. When directly across from the Academy’s cemetery, the ship suddenly came to a stop as part of the crew emerged, wearing dress uniforms, to line the decks and render honors to the admiral and his wife.

With acknowledgement now of the admiral’s Jewish roots, a footnote in the Navy’s history ultimately had to be written.

Today, Admiral Zumwalt is recognized, not only as the Navy’s youngest officer to ever serve as CNO, but also as the first Jewish CNO to serve. He has done those of us he left behind–and, I believe, Israel as well–proud!

James Zumwalt is a retired Marine infantry officer who served in the Vietnam War, Panama and Operation Desert Storm. He is the author of three books and hundreds of opinion pieces in online and print publications.