| John Geraerdt Crommelin, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | "Bomb-run John" |
| Born | October 2, 1902 – November 2, 1996 Montgomery, Alabama |
| Died | Montgomery, Alabama |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Navy |
| Rank | Rear Admiral |
| Unit | Naval aviation, USS Enterprise, Navy headquarters |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Other work | Gubernatorial, Senate, Vice Presidential and Presidential candidate |
Rear Admiral John Geraerdt Crommelin, Jr. (October 2, 1902 – November 2, 1996) was a prominent United States Navy officer and later a frequent political candidate who championed white supremacy.
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Born in Montgomery, Alabama as eldest of five brothers, he graduated an United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1923. Previously he grew up in Montgomery and in Elmore County, Alabama.
He saw combat at the Pacific during World War II. All of his brothers also graduated from the US Naval Academy and two of them were killed in action during WWII.
Crommelin earned a reputation of courageous and skillful naval aviator and nickname "bomb-run John". He served as an executive officer as well as air officer aboard the Enterprise and was chief of staff aboard the carrier Liscombe Bay when it was sunk in the Makin Island campaign off the Gilbert Islands.
In 1946, Captain Crommelin was given command of America's newest and most modern aircraft carrier of the time, the USS Saipan (CVL-48).
In 1949 he served at Navy headquarters in The Pentagon in rank of captain. He became there a vocal critic of [1] military politics warning of the dangers of concentrating military authority in the hands of a few, despite being in active service. Captain Crommelin publicly complained that the Defense Department was scuttling naval air power and showing improper favor to the Air Force, and that "a Prussian General Staff system of the type employed by Hitler" was being imposed on the armed forces under unification.
Crommelin was publicly reprimanded by Admiral Forrest P. Sherman, then Chief of Naval Operations, for making public confidential Navy letters linking top admirals to active opposition against unification.
In result, he was transferred to San Francisco, California. After he continued his criticism in the face of orders to keep silent, he was ordered by Admiral Sherman to be furloughed at half pay, beginning early in 1950.
His activity and views became publicly well-known. In example in 1950 The New York Times's military affairs expert Hanson W. Baldwin wrote that Captain Crommelin was a "stormy petrel who wouldn't shut up." Others consider him another "Eagle of the Sea" plucked by "The harpies of the shore...".
Crommelin retired from active duty with the rank of Rear Admiral in May 1950, after 30 years. He went to operate a part of his family plantation, named Harrogate Springs, in Elmore County, raising a variety of crops.
USS CROMMELIN (FFG 37), twenty-eighth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class of guided-missile frigates, assigned to Destroyer Squadron 31 and homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the island of Oahu is named for the Crommelin brothers although inclusion of John G. is presently considered politically incorrect although his photograph appears with his brothers on the military website. Despite his later misguided political efforts, he is still recognized as a genuine Naval hero.
Although he was widely praised and credited for his courage in speaking out for his views and for his previous distinguished combat career, Crommelin's reputation suffered from his later political involvement.
Alongside his Senatorial and Gubernatorial bids in Alabama, he was nominated for Vice President by the minor far-right National States' Rights Party (not to be confused with the more moderate Dixiecrats), as the running mate of Governor of Arkansas Orval Faubus.
During the United States presidential election of 1968 he ran in the Democratic New Hampshire primary, winning only 186 votes (0.34%) and finishing fifth.
None of his electoral bids was successful.
He married Lillian E. Landis in 1930, who died in 1993. They had two daughters and one son. (Social Security Death Index shows date of death as 8 February 1993.)
Alabama United States Senate election, 1950
Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1956
Alabama gubernatorial election, 1958 (Democratic primary)
Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1960
United States presidential election, 1960
Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1962
Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1966
United States presidential election, 1968 (Democratic primaries)
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by N/A |
National States' Rights Party Vice Presidential nominee 1960 |
Succeeded by J. B. Stoner |
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