 elmo russell "bud" zumwalt, jr. (november 29, 1920 â january 2, 2000) was an american naval officer and the youngest man to serve as chief of naval operations. as an admiral and later the 19th chief of naval operations, zumwalt played a major role in u.s. military history, especially during the vietnam war. a decorated war veteran, zumwalt reformed u.s. 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 an unsuccessful campaign for the u.s. senate. ==early life and education== zumwalt was born in san francisco, california, the son of elmo russell zumwalt, m.d., and his wife, frances (frank) zumwalt, m.d.,contemporary authors online, gale, 2009. reproduced in biography resource center. farmington hills, michigan: gale, 2009. both country doctors. frances was the daughter of julius and sarah frank of burlington, vermont. her family moved to los angeles, california, where she grew up. by marrying elmo zumwalt, she became estranged from her parents due to their traditional jewish views, and throughout the rest of her life she claimed she was adopted (elmo russell zumwalt, m.d., was from a christian background). zumwalt, an eagle scout and recipient of the distinguished eagle scout award from the boy scouts of america, attended tulare union high school in tulare, california, where he became the valedictorian, and rutherford preparatory school in long beach, california. ==entrance into the us navy== he had planned to become a doctor like his parents, but in 1939, zumwalt was accepted to the united states naval academy at annapolis, maryland. as a [[midsh
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