DURHAM, N.C. -- His colleagues credited him with visualizing, then building the modern U.S. Navy. But to Retired Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., there was sad irony in one of his most memorable orders.
With Zumwalt at its helm, the Navy relaxed regulations for enlisted men and increased the combat effectiveness of a dwindling fleet with more sophisticated and efficient weapons.Yet as commander of its forces during the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1970, Zumwalt believed he inadvertently caused the death of his own son, Elmo Zumwalt III, by ordering the spraying of Vietnam jungles with Agent Orange, a defoliant that contained the toxic chemical dioxin. The son, who fought under his father's command, died of cancer in 1988.
Zumwalt, the youngest chief of naval operations in U.S. history, died Sunday at Duke University Medical Center, about three months after doctors discovered a cancerous tumor in his chest. He was 79.
"His bold, visionary leadership brought great change to our service in the early '70s," said Adm. Jay Johnson, the current chief of naval operations. "His actions had profound impacts on the size, shape and culture of our Navy, which are still evident today, nearly three decades after his watch."
Neither rancor nor regret seemed to exist between father and son over Zumwalt's Agent Orange decision. The younger Zumwalt said he didn't blame his father for his illness, and the eldest said he didn't regret the order.
"I do not have any guilt feelings because I was convinced then and I am convinced now that the use of Agent Orange saved literally hundreds and maybe thousands of lives," Zumwalt told The Associated Press in 1985.
However, Zumwalt led efforts for more research into the chemical's deadly effects. The Department of Veterans Affairs now provides medical treatment and payments for various cancers and other diseases associated with exposure to Agent Orange.
"No one has done more to face the consequences of Agent Orange and provide benefits to sick vets," Bobby Muller, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation in Washington, said Sunday. "Not many military officials now want to deal with Agent Orange exposure."
At age 44, Zumwalt became a rear admiral, the youngest to reach the rank. He was 49 when he became the Navy's top officer in July 1970.
He quickly became famous for "Z-Grams" that made Navy careers more attractive by relaxing regulations enlisted men considered demeaning and senseless. Among other things, the "Z-Grams" permitted beards and long hair if maintained neatly, the wearing of civilian clothes at shore installations and more free time in port.
Zumwalt also abolished the prerequisite of attaining the rank of admiral for holding a major command at sea and widened freedom of choice in assignments. Zumwalt wrote two books. "On Watch: A Memoir," published in 1976, recounted his Navy career and warned Americans about the Soviet naval threat. "My Father, My Son," published in 1986, was co-written with his son and is an account of their Vietnam experiences and the illness that would later kill the son.
Zumwalt, who was born in Tulare, Calif., graduated cum laude from the Naval Academy in 1942 and was awarded the Bronze Star for his valor during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In January 1998, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
He retired as chief of naval operations in July 1974 and unsuccessfully ran as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Virginia two years later.
Zumwalt lived in McLean, Va., just outside Washington, D.C. Survivors include his wife, a son, two daughters, six grandchildren, a sister and a brother.