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Admiral William J. Crowe receives the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Admiral William J. Crowe
President Clinton awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom , the Nation's highest civilian honor, to Admiral William J. Crowe Jr., USN (Ret.); one of 15 distinguished individuals. The White House ceremony took place today, August 9, 2000.
Admiral William J. Crowe, USN, Ret., a native of Oklahoma, is a graduate of the Naval Academy (Class of 1947). While serving in the Navy, his major command was Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Command. He was also commander of the Middle East Force in the Persian Gulf; and, was head of Navy Plans and Policy. In 1985, he was named the eleventh Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President Ronald Reagan. He was also chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1993 to 1994); former ambassador to the United Kingdom (1993 to 1997) and Chairman of two Accountability Review Boards charged with investigating the bombings of the embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. He is a four-time recipient of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and has more than fifty years of government service.
Retired from the Navy since 1989, Admiral Crowe is currently Chairman of the United States Navy Memorial Foundation Board of Directors and a member of the board of directors for the United States Naval Academy Foundation.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is America's highest civilian award and, among all American honors, it ranks second to only the Congressional Medal of Honor --the nation's highest military award. This great honor is reserved for individuals the President deems to have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Though it may be awarded for singular acts of momentous import, it is generally conferred only for a lifetime of service or at the conclusion of a distinguished career.
The award is "given only after careful thought, always sparingly so as not to debase its currency."
The original award was established by President Harry S. Truman in 1945 awarding notable service in the war. In 1963, President Kennedy amended the award and issued an Executive Order creating the Presidential Medal of Freedom; broadening its scope to include persons who had made especially meritorious contributions "in all forms of endeavor that are touched with the public interest." The new award was to be presented in two degrees, the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction (the higher degree), and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Content prepared by Anne Sharpe
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Medal History
