Arthur W. Radford

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Arthur W. Radford : biography

February 27, 1896 – August 17, 1973
Naval Aviator Badge
Navy Distinguished Service Medal with three stars Legion of Merit with star
Navy Presidential Unit Citation with two service stars Navy Unit Commendation World War I Victory Medal
American Defense Service Medal with star American Campaign Medal Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with seven service stars
World War II Victory Medal Korean Service Medal Army of Occupation Medal
National Defense Service Medal Order of the Bath Philippine Liberation Medal with service star

Later life

After his second term as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Radford opted to retire from the Navy in 1957 to enter the private sector. He was called upon to serve as military campaign advisor for Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, and again for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 election.

Radford died at age 77 on 17 August 1973 at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He was buried with the full honors accorded to a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Section 3 of the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. In 1975, the Navy launched the anti-submarine Spruance-class destroyer , named in his honor.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

{} Eisenhower’s official nomination for Radford came in mid-1953. Eisenhower was initially cautious about him because of his involvement in the inter-service rivalry and "revolt" in 1949. Radford’s anticommunist views, however, as well as his knowledge of Asia and his support of Eisenhower’s "New Look" defense policy, made him an attractive nominee, particularly among Republicans, to replace Omar Bradley. Eisenhower was also impressed with his "intelligence, dedication, tenacity, and courage to speak his mind." During his nomination, Radford indicated a changed outlook from the positions he had taken during the "Revolt of the Admirals". As Chairman, he was eventually popular with both the President and Congress.

Military budget

Radford was integral in formulating and executing the "New Look" policy, reducing spending on conventional military forces to favor a strong nuclear deterrent and a greater reliance on airpower. In this time, he had to overcome resistance from Army leaders who opposed the reduction of their forces, and Radford’s decisions, unfettered by inter-service rivalry, impressed Eisenhower. In spite of his support of the "New Look", he disagreed with Eisenhower on several occasions when the president proposed drastic funding cuts that Radford worried would render the U.S. Navy ineffective. In late 1954, for example, Radford testified privately before a congressional committee that he felt some of Eisenhower’s proposed defense cuts would limit the military’s capability for "massive retaliation", but he kept his disagreements out of public view, working from within and seeking the funding to save specific strategic programs.

In 1956, Radford proposed protecting several military programs from funding cuts by reducing numbers of conventional forces, but the proposal was leaked to the press, causing an uproar in Congress and among U.S. military allies, and the plan was dropped. In 1957, after the other Joint Chiefs of Staff again disagreed on how to downsize force levels amid more budget restrictions, Radford submitted ideas for less dramatic force downsizing directly to Secretary of Defense Charles Erwin Wilson, who agreed to them along with Eisenhower.