Arthur W . Radford Arthur William Radford ( 27 February 1896 – 17 August 1973 ) was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator . In over 40 years of military service , Radford held a variety of posts including Vice Chief of Naval Operations , commander of the United States Pacific Fleet and later the second Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . With an interest in ships and aircraft from a young age , Radford saw his first sea duty aboard the battleship during World War I . In the inter - war period he earned his pilot wings and rose through the ranks in duties aboard ships and in the Bureau of Aeronautics . After the U . S . entered World War II , he was the architect of the development and expansion of the Navy ' s aviator training programs in the first years of the war . In its final years he commanded carrier division s through several major campaigns of the Pacific War . Noted as a strong - willed and aggressive leader , Radford was a central figure in the post - war debates on U . S . military policy , and was a staunch proponent of naval aviation . As commander of the Pacific Fleet , he defended the Navy ' s interests in an era of shrinking defense budgets , and was a central figure in the " Revolt of the Admirals , " a contentious public fight over policy . As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs , he continued to advocate for aggressive foreign policy and a strong nuclear deterrent in support of the " New Look " policy of President Dwight Eisenhower . Retiring from the military in 1957 , Radford continued to be a military adviser to several prominent politicians until his death in 1973 . For his extensive service , he was awarded many military honors , and was the namesake of the " Spruance " - class destroyer . Early life . Arthur William Radford was born on 27 February 1896 in Chicago , Illinois , to John Arthur Radford , a Canadian - born electrical engineer , and Agnes Eliza Radford ( née Knight ) . The eldest of four children , he was described as bright and energetic in his youth . When Arthur was six years old the family moved to Riverside , Illinois , where his father took a job as a managing engineer with Commonwealth Edison Company . John Radford managed the first steam turbine engines in the United States , at the Fisk Street Generating Station . Arthur began his school years at Riverside Public School , where he expressed an interest in the United States Navy from a young age . He gained an interest in aviation during a visit to the 1904 World Fair in San Francisco , California . By fourth grade , he frequently drew detailed cross - section diagrams of the . He was shy , but performed very well in school . In mid - 1910 , Radford moved with his family to Grinnell , Iowa , and attended Grinnell High School for a year and a half , before deciding to apply to the United States Naval Academy . He obtained the local congressman ' s recommendation for an appointment to the academy , and was accepted . After several months of tutoring at Annapolis , Maryland , he entered the academy in July 1912 , at the age of sixteen . Although Radford ' s first year at the academy was mediocre he applied himself to his studies in his remaining years there . He participated in summer cruises to Europe in 1913 and 1914 and passed through the Panama Canal to San Francisco in 1916 . Radford , known as " Raddie " to his fellow students , graduated 59th of 177 in the class of 1916 , and was commissioned as an ensign in the U . S . Navy during the First World War . Military career . Radford ' s first duty was aboard the battleship , as it escorted a transatlantic convoy to France in 1918 . In his second post he was an aide - de - camp to a battleship division commander , and in his third , a flag lieutenant for another battleship division commander . In 1920 , Radford reported to Pensacola , Florida , for flight training , and was promoted to lieutenant soon thereafter . During the 1920s and 1930s his sea duty alternated among several aircraft squadrons , fleet staffs , and tours in the U . S . with the Bureau of Aeronautics . It was during this time , while he served under Rear Admiral William Moffett , that he frequently interacted with politicians and picked up the political acumen that would become useful later in his career . While he did not attend the Naval War College , as other rising officers did , Radford established himself as an effective officer who would speak his mind frankly , even to superiors . Radford achieved the rank of lieutenant commander by 1927 , and served with aircraft units aboard , , and . In 1936 , he was promoted to commander and took charge of fighter squadron VF - 1B aboard . By 1939 , he was given command of Naval Air Station Seattle in Seattle , Washington . On 22 April 1939 , he married Mariana Spencer at Vancouver Barracks , Washington . In May 1940 , he was appointed executive officer of the , a post he served in for one year . In July 1941 , Radford was appointed commander of the Naval Air Station in Trinidad , British West Indies . He protested this appointment because he feared he would remain there for years , sidelined as World War II loomed . In the event he only remained in this station for three months , following an organizational shift in the Bureau of Aeronautics . By mid - 1941 , thanks to a large expansion in the naval aviator program , squadrons could no longer train newly arrived aviators . Further , at that time , the vast difference in the performance of combat aircraft over training aircraft meant that pilots needed more time in combat aircraft before become proficient in them . Radford was subsequently visited by Artemus L . Gates , Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Air . The latter was so impressed that he ordered Rear Admiral John H . Towers , chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics , to transfer Radford to a newly formed training division . World War II . Aviation Training Division . Radford took command of the Aviation Training Division in Washington , D . C . on 1 December 1941 , seven days before the attack on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II . He was appointed as Director of Aviation Training for both the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and the Bureau of Navigation ; the double appointment helped to centralize training coordination for all naval aviators . With the U . S . mobilizing for war , Radford ' s office worked long hours six days a week in an effort to build up the necessary training infrastructure as quickly as possible . For several months , this around - the - clock work took up all of his time , and he later noted that walking to work was his only form of exercise for several months . During this time , he impressed colleagues with a direct and no - nonsense approach to work , while maintaining a demeanor that made him easy to work for . He was promoted to captain soon after . Throughout 1942 he established and refined the administrative infrastructure for aviation training . Radford oversaw the massive growth of the training division , establishing separate sections for administration ; Physical Training Service Schools ; and training devices ; and sections to train various aviators in flight , aircraft operation , radio operation , and gunnery . The section also organized technical training and wrote training literature . He also engineered the establishment of four field commands for pilot training . Air Primary Training Command commanded all pre - flight schools and Naval reserve aviation bases in the country . Air Intermediate Training Command administered Naval Air Station Pensacola and Naval Air Station Corpus Christi where flight training was conducted . Air Operational Training Command was in charge of all education of pilots between pilot training and their first flying assignments . Finally , Air Technical Training Command trained enlisted men for support jobs in aviation such as maintenance , engineering , aerography , and parachute operations . Radford sought to integrate his own efficient leadership style into the organization of these schools . Radford was noted for thinking progressively and innovatively to establish the most effective and efficient training programs . He sought to integrate sports conditioning programs into naval aviator training . Radford brought in athletic directors from Ohio State University , Harvard University and Penn State University under football player and naval aviator Tom Hamilton , whom he gave the remit to develop the conditioning programs . Radford also suggested integrating women into intricate but repetitive tasks , such as running flight simulator s . When commanders rejected the idea of bringing women into the service , he convinced Congressman Carl Vinson , chair of the House Naval Affairs Committee of the merit of the idea . This effort eventually led to the employment of the " Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service " , and 23 , 000 WAVES would assist in aeronautical training in the course of the war . Radford also sought to best use the assets of businessmen and professionals who had volunteered for military service , establishing the Aviation Indoctrination School and Air Combat Intelligence School at Naval Air Station Quonset Point so as to enable these advanced recruits to become more experienced naval officers . Sea duty . By early 1943 , with Radford ' s training programs established and functioning efficiently , he sought combat duty . In April of that year , he was ordered to report to the office of Commander , Naval Air Forces , Pacific Fleet where he was promoted to rear admiral and tapped to be a carrier division commander . This was an unusual appointment , as most carrier division commanders were appointed only after duty commanding a capital ship . He then spent May and June 1943 on an inspection party under Gates , touring U . S . bases in the south Pacific . Following this , he was assigned under Rear Admiral Frederick C . Sherman , commander of Carrier Division Two at Pearl Harbor . Radford spent several weeks observing flight operations and carrier tactics for various ships operating out of Hawaii . He was particularly impressed with how carrier doctrine had evolved in the time since his own assignment on a carrier , and in June 1943 , he was ordered to observe operations on the light aircraft carrier , learning the unique challenges of using light carriers . On 21 July 1943 , Radford was given command of Carrier Division Eleven , which consisted of the new " Essex " - class carrier as well as the light carriers USS " Independence " and . These carriers remained at Pearl Harbor through August , training and refining their operations . Radford got his first operational experience on 1 September 1943 , covering a foray to Baker and Howland Island s as part of Task Force 11 under Rear Admiral Willis A . Lee . Radford commanded " Princeton " , and four destroyers to act as a covering force for Lee ' s Marines , who built an airfield on the islands . After this successful operation , and at the direction of Admiral Chester W . Nimitz , Task Force 11 was joined by Task Force 15 , with " Lexington " , under Rear Admiral Charles A . Pownall . The two task forces then steamed for Tarawa Atoll to strike it . On the night of 17 September , the carriers launched six strikes of fighter aircraft , dive bomber s , and torpedo planes to work over the Japanese defenses . Next , Radford and his carriers took part in an air attack and cruiser bombardment of Wake Island on 5 to 6 October 1943 . He shifted his flag to " Lexington " for the operation , which took two days . Though the effects on Japanese positions were not known , Radford and other leaders considered the operations useful for readying troops for the many major battles to come in the Central Pacific . Major combat operations . Major operations in the Central Pacific began that November . Radford ' s next duty was in Operation Galvanic , a campaign into the Gilbert Islands with the objective of capturing Tarawa as well as Makin Island and Apamama Atoll . It would be one of the first times that American carriers would be operating against Japanese land - based air power in force , as U . S . Army troops and U . S . Marines fought the Japanese on the ground . For this mission , Radford ' s carrier division was designated Task Group 50 . 2 , the Northern Carrier Group , which consisted of , " Belleau Wood " and . He did not agree with this strategy , maintaining until his death that the force should have gone on an offensive to strike Japanese air power instead of being tied to the ground forces . Despite his objections , the force left Pearl Harbor for the Gilbert Islands on 10 November . The invasion began on 20 November . Radford ' s force was occupied with air strike s on Japanese ground targets , and faced frequent attack by Japanese aircraft in night combat , which U . S . aircrews were not well prepared or equipped for . He improvised a unit to counter Japanese night raids , and was later credited with establishing routines for nighttime combat air patrol s to protect carriers ; these were adopted fleetwide . He commanded Carrier Division Eleven around Tarawa for several more days , returning to Pearl Harbor on 4 December . Returning from Tarawa , Radford was reassigned as chief of staff to Towers , who was Commander , Air Force , Pacific Fleet . He assisted in planning upcoming operations , including Operation Flintlock , the invasion of the Marshall Islands . He had hoped to return to combat duty at the end of this assignment , but in March 1944 he was ordered to Washington , D . C . and appointed as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations . He assumed this new duty on 1 April , a role which was primarily administrative in nature . His duties included establishing a new integrated system for aircraft maintenance , supply , and retirement , for which he was appointed the head of a board to study aircraft wear and tear . After six months in this duty , Radford was returned to the Pacific theater by Admiral Ernest J . King , the Commander in Chief , United States Fleet . Radford returned to Pearl Harbor on 7 October 1944 , where he was appointed as commander of First Carrier Task Force , Carrier Division Six . While flying to his new command , he was held over in Kwajalein and then Saipan , missing the Battle of Leyte Gulf which took place in the Philippines during the layover . He flew to Ulithi where he reported to Vice Admiral John S . McCain , Sr . , commander of Task Force 58 . For the next two months , Radford remained on " make learn " status , again under Sherman ' s command , observing the operations and employment of carrier - based air power as a passenger aboard , part of Task Group 38 . 3 . During this time , he observed the strikes on Luzon and the Visayas , as well as air attacks on Japanese shipping and Typhoon Cobra . On 29 December 1944 , Radford was unexpectedly ordered to take command of Task Group 38 . 1 after its commander , Rear Admiral Alfred E . Montgomery , was injured . The next day the fleet sortied from Ulithi and headed for scheduled air strikes on Luzon and Formosa ( Taiwan ) . Throughout January 1945 , Radford ' s fleet operated in the South China Sea striking Japanese targets in French Indochina and Hong Kong . In February , the U . S . Third Fleet was re - designated the U . S . Fifth Fleet , and as a part of this reorganization Radford ' s force was redesignated Task Group 58 . 4 . He continued striking Japanese targets in the Inland Sea during March . On 1 April , the force was moved to support the Battle of Okinawa . Over the course of the next two months , his force continued its use of night raids , which by this point were effective in repelling Japanese attacks on U . S . Navy ships . After two months supporting ground forces on Okinawa , Radford ' s fleet was detached from that operation . Returning to the Third Fleet and being re - designated Task Group 38 . 4 , the force began operating off the Japanese Home Islands in July 1945 . It began an intense airstrike campaign against military targets on Honshu and Hokkaido , striking Japanese airfields , merchant shipping , and ground targets . Radford commanded the force in this duty until V - J Day , the end of the war in the Pacific . Upon receipt of the orders to end hostilities , he signaled his ships that he was proud of their accomplishments . Post - war years . Radford was promoted to vice admiral in late 1945 . For a time he was Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Air under Secretary of the Navy James V . Forrestal . In the post - war period Radford was a strong advocate that naval aviation programs be maintained . When Fleet Admiral Ernest J . King issued a post - war plan calling for the U . S . to maintain nine active aircraft carriers , Radford suggested he double the number , a politically unrealistic proposal . After the war , Radford was a principal opponent to a plan to merge the uniformed services . A plan existed to split the Army and the Army Air Forces into separate branches and unite them and the Navy under one Cabinet - level defense organization . Fearing the loss of their branch ' s influence , Navy commanders opposed the formation of a separate Air Force and favored a more loose defense organization . Radford was picked by Forrestal to form the Secretary ' s Committee of Research and Reorganization . Months of discussion resulted in the National Security Act of 1947 , a political victory for the Navy because it created the U . S . Air Force while resulting in a coordinated , not unified , U . S . Department of Defense with limited power and with the Navy maintaining control of its air assets . In 1947 , Radford was briefly appointed commander of the Second Task Fleet , a move he felt was to distance him from the budget negotiations in Washington , but nonetheless preferred . In 1948 , Radford was appointed by President Harry S . Truman as the Vice Chief of Naval Operations ( VCNO . ) Debates continued with military leaders about the future of the armed forces as Truman sought to trim the defense budget . Radford was relied on by Navy leaders as an expert who would fiercely defend the Navy ' s interests from budget restrictions , but his appoint as VCNO were opposed by Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz , who feared his hard - line stance on the budget would alienate the generals in the other branches of the military . Some historians contend Radford brought strong leadership to the role . Naval aviation assets grew from 2 , 467 aircraft to 3 , 467 during this time , almost all aircraft for fast - attack carriers . He also oversaw the implementation of the " Full Air Program " which envisioned 14 , 500 total aircraft in the naval air force . Along with his predecessor John Dale Price , he favored reducing naval ship strength in order to develop stronger naval aviation capabilities . Then , in 1949 , Truman appointed him as the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands . Commander of the U . S . Pacific Fleet . In April 1949 , Truman appointed Radford to the position of Commander of the U . S . Pacific Fleet . A staunch anticommunist , Radford saw the greatest threat to U . S . security coming from Asia , not Europe . He traveled extensively throughout the Pacific as well as South Asia and the Far East . He became acquainted with political and military leaders in New Zealand , Australia , The Philippines , Vietnam , Thailand , Malaya , Burma , India , Pakistan , Hong Kong , Formosa , and Japan , and learned about the sociopolitical issues facing each nation and the region as a whole . " Revolt of the Admirals " . Despite his new office , Radford was soon recalled to Washington to continue hearings on the future of the U . S . military budget . He became a key figure in what would later be called the " Revolt of the Admirals " , which took place during April 1949 when the supercarrier was cancelled . At the request of Vinson , Radford strongly opposed plans by Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson and Secretary of the Navy Francis P . Matthews to make the Convair B - 36 the Air Force ' s principal bomber , calling it a " billion dollar blunder . " Radford also questioned the Air Force ' s plan to focus on nuclear weapons delivery capabilities as its primary deterrent to war and called nuclear war " morally reprehensible " . While the " United States " remained cancelled and the post - war cuts to the Navy were intact , funding was increasing during the Cold War era for conventional forces . Korean War . Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 , control of Vice Admiral Arthur D . Struble ' s U . S . Seventh Fleet was transferred from Radford to Vice Admiral C . Turner Joy , who was serving as Commander , Naval Forces , Far East . Joy ' s superior was General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of the United Nations Command Korea ( UNC ) . As such , Radford exercised no direct responsibility over forces involved in the conflict . Radford was an admirer of MacArthur and a proponent of his " Asia First " strategy . He supported Operation Chromite in October 1950 , as well as the United Nations mission of Korean reunification . He attended the Wake Island Conference between MacArthur and Truman on 15 October , and later recalled his belief that , should the Chinese intervene in the war , the U . S . could still prevail provided it was able to strike Chinese bases in Manchuria with air power . When the People ' s Volunteer Army did intervene in favor of North Korea the next month , Radford shared MacArthur ' s frustration at restrictions placed on the UN force in the war preventing it from striking Chinese soil . Once Truman relieved MacArthur in April 1951 , Radford reportedly gave the general a " hero ' s welcome " in Hawaii as he was returning to the United States . As commander of U . S . forces in The Philippines and Formosa , Radford accompanied President - elect Dwight D . Eisenhower on his three - day trip to Korea in December 1952 . Eisenhower was looking for an exit strategy for the stalemated and unpopular war , and Radford suggested threatening China with attacks on its Manchurian bases and the use of nuclear weapons . This view was shared by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and UNC Commander General Mark W . Clark , but had not been acted on when the armistice came in July 1953 , at a time when the Chinese were struggling with domestic unrest . Still , Radford ' s frankness during the trip and his knowledge of Asia made a good impression on Eisenhower , who nominated Radford to be his Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Eisenhower ' s official nomination for Radford came in mid - 1953 . Eisenhower was initially cautious about him because of his involvement in the inter - service rivalry and " revolt " in 1949 . Radford ' s anticommunist views , however , as well as his knowledge of Asia and his support of Eisenhower ' s " New Look " defense policy , made him an attractive nominee , particularly among Republicans , to replace Omar Bradley . Eisenhower was also impressed with his " intelligence , dedication , tenacity , and courage to speak his mind . " During his nomination , Radford indicated a changed outlook from the positions he had taken during the " Revolt of the Admirals " . As Chairman , he was eventually popular with both the President and Congress . Military budget . Radford was integral in formulating and executing the " New Look " policy , reducing spending on conventional military forces to favor a strong nuclear deterrent and a greater reliance on airpower . In this time , he had to overcome resistance from Army leaders who opposed the reduction of their forces , and Radford ' s decisions , unfettered by inter - service rivalry , impressed Eisenhower . In spite of his support of the " New Look " , he disagreed with Eisenhower on several occasions when the president proposed drastic funding cuts that Radford worried would render the U . S . Navy ineffective . In late 1954 , for example , Radford testified privately before a congressional committee that he felt some of Eisenhower ' s proposed defense cuts would limit the military ' s capability for " massive retaliation " , but he kept his disagreements out of public view , working from within and seeking the funding to save specific strategic programs . In 1956 , Radford proposed protecting several military programs from funding cuts by reducing numbers of conventional forces , but the proposal was leaked to the press , causing an uproar in Congress and among U . S . military allies , and the plan was dropped . In 1957 , after the other Joint Chiefs of Staff again disagreed on how to downsize force levels amid more budget restrictions , Radford submitted ideas for less dramatic force downsizing directly to Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson , who agreed to them along with Eisenhower . Foreign military policy . While Radford remained Eisenhower ' s principal adviser for the budget , they differed on matters of foreign policy . Radford advocated the use of nuclear weapons and a firm military and diplomatic stance against China . Early in his tenure , he suggested to Eisenhower a preventive war against China or the Soviet Union while the U . S . possessed a nuclear advantage and before it became entangled in conflicts in the Far East . Eisenhower immediately dismissed this idea . After France requested U . S . assistance for its beleaguered force at Dien Bien Phu in 1954 , Radford suggested an aggressive stance toward the Viet Minh , recommending the U . S . threaten them with nuclear weapons as it had with the Chinese in Korea . He also advocated U . S . military intervention in the 1955 First Taiwan Strait Crisis as well as the 1956 Suez Crisis , but Eisenhower favored diplomatic approaches and threats of force . Later life . After his second term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs , Radford opted to retire from the Navy in 1957 to enter the private sector . He was called upon to serve as military campaign advisor for Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election , and again for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election . Radford died at age 77 on 17 August 1973 at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda , Maryland . He was buried with the full honors accorded to a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Section 3 of the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington , Virginia . In 1975 , the Navy launched the anti - submarine " Spruance " - class destroyer , named in his honor . Awards and decorations . Radford ' s awards and decorations include the following accolades :