JSC CHAIRMAN CROWE DIES

Adm. William J. Crowe, a Naval Officer whose long career included stints as chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S.ambassador to England died Oct. 18. He was 82. Crowe died of cardiac arrest at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. Navy Memorial CEO retired Rear Adm. Rick Buchanan said. He was an outstanding man, a dedicated Naval Officer, a wonderful American, a scholar and a teacher. He will be missed , Buchanan said. Crowe was chairman of the Navy Memorial's board. A 1947 Naval Academy graduate and a submariner, Srowe served as an assistant to President Eisenhower's Naval Aide. In 1980, he was named commander in chief of allied forces in Southern Europe and then in 1983 as commander in chief of U.S. Pacific Command. President Reagan tapped him to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff in 1985, a position in which he served until 1989. During his tenure Congress passed the Goldwater - Nichols Act of 1986, a sweeping measure that unified many aspects of a then - disconnected military and made Crowe the senior - most U.S. military officer. Crowe is survived by his wife Shirley Grinel, and their three children. A funeral has tentively been scheduled for Oct. 31 at the Naval Academy.