John Lehman: Review of Larry Berman's "Zumwalt: The Life and Times of Admiral Elmo Russell ‘Bud’ Zumwalt, Jr."

John Lehman was secretary of the Navy in the Reagan administration and a member of the 9/11 Commission.

There is nothing wrong with hagiographies, if they are well researched and written — and if the praise is deserved; we need more of them. “Zumwalt” is a fine example, an engaging book about an extraordinary sailor and human being who had an inspirational faith in the strengths of America, its people and its Navy.

Elmo “Bud” Zumwalt was commissioned into a U.S. Navy fighting hard in a world war. He served courageously in that war, just after which — in a charming Shanghai love story — he married a White Russian beauty who became “his strength” from then on. His Navy career was fast-paced and exciting, both at sea and in Washington, and his arrival in Vietnam in 1968 as commander of U.S. Naval Forces there revolutionized the in-country naval campaign.

Zumwalt’s innovative and effective tactics in Vietnam earned him a promotion to chief of naval operations in 1970, an announcement that brought many retired admirals close to cardiac infarction. Their worst fears were realized at once, when a barrage of directives called “Z-Grams” poured from Zumwalt’s office changing everything in the Navy great and small. He intended to reform the Navy completely, to restore a sense of mission and a sense of excitement, and instill a sense of real racial equality. Guerrilla warfare against him began immediately from the old guard in Congress and the retired admirals, especially those from the old South. But Zumwalt, who would have been at home at the Medici court, could maneuver and scheme with the best of them....