Edward Rowny

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Edward Rowny
1917-

Lieutenant General Edward Rowny
Place of birth Baltimore, Maryland
Allegiance U.S. Army
Years of service 1941-1979
Rank Lieutenant General
Battles/wars World War II
Korean War
Awards Combat Infantryman Badge

Lieutenant General Edward Rowny, born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1917 in a Polish family, was a U.S. Army general and an ambassador, chief U.S. negotiator in arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union, and one of the originators of the helicopter as a platform for combat. The citation from his Presidential Citizen's Medal, which he received in 1989, reads: "one of the principal architect's of peace through strength policy." He served as an arms control adviser and negotiator to five presidents - Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan and Bush.

Rowny earned a BS from Johns Hopkins University in Engineering, and holds degrees from West Point, Yale (MAs in Engineering and International Affairs) and American University (PhD in International Studies).

General Rowny commanded troops in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. After the 92nd Infantry Division was decimated in the invasion of Italy in 1944, Rowny was brought in as a battalion commander that drove the Germans up the Western coast of Italy until the end of the war. A day after the end of World War II in Europe, he was assigned to planning the invasion of Japan.

Assigned to General Douglas MacArthur, he became his spokesman and one of the planners of the landing of Inchon (September 15, 1950), which forced a North Korean retreat and enabled the taking of Seoul. Rowny was personally involved in the evacuation of UN troops after the Chinese attack at Hagaru-ri and Koto-ri in November 1950.

During the Vietnam War he tested the helicopter as a platform for the to Army fight insurgency. Subsequently, as deputy chief to General Andrew P. O'Meara he was in charge of relocation of NATO troops from France.

In 1971 he was appointed US representative to Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) and held this post under three presidents, retiring from the Army in protest in 1979 over disagreement with the Carter administration. After the election of President Reagan, General Rowny was appointed to the rank of ambassador as the President's chief strategic negotiator to Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) for four years and later Special Advisor for Arms Control to Presidents Reagan and Bush until he retired in 1990.

In 1990, General Rowny retired from the government to become an international consultant. Subsequently, he authored It Takes One to Tango (1992), a memoir of his service to five Presidents and his dealings with the Soviets.

A prominent Polish-American, in 1994, General Rowny became president of the Paderewski Living Memorial to perpetuate the legacy of the great Polish patriot and internationally acclaimed composer and pianist. General Rowny continues to be active as a Founding Member of American Polish Advisory Council and the organization's Vice President.

In 2005, the 25th anniversary of Solidarity, he received the Truman-Regan Medal of Freedom from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, along with John Paul II, Anna Walentynowicz and the ten million unsung heroes of first free trade union, Solidarity.

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