Arthur William Radford was a U.S. Navy admiral and naval aviator. He was the architect of the Navy’s aviator training programs in the first years of World War II. He retired from the Navy in 1957 as Vice Chief of Naval Operations and was the second Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He is the namesake of the Spruance-class destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford.
About Arthur W. Radford in brief
Arthur William Radford was a U.S. Navy admiral and naval aviator. He was the architect of the Navy’s aviator training programs in the first years of World War II. Noted as a strong-willed and aggressive leader, he was a central figure in the post-war debates on U. S. military policy. Retiring from the military in 1957, Radford continued to be a military adviser to several prominent politicians until his death in 1973. He is the namesake of the Spruance-class destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford. Radford died of cancer in 1973 at the age of 83. He leaves behind a wife and four children. He died in a nursing home in Washington, D.C., where he was buried with his wife, Agnes Eliza Radford, and their three children. The Radford family moved from Illinois to Grinnell, Iowa, when Arthur was six years old. He attended the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated 59th of 177 in the class of 1916. He served in World War I on the battleship USS South Carolina. In the inter-war period he earned his pilot wings and rose through the ranks in duties aboard ships and in the Bureau of Aeronautics. In 1936 he was given command of the Naval Air Station in Seattle, Washington. He retired from the Navy in 1957 as Vice Chief of Naval Operations and was the second Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as the commander of the U. S. Pacific Fleet and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for his distinguished military service.
His funeral was held in Chicago, Illinois, on February 27, 1979. He left behind a widow and three children, including a son and a daughter-in-law, who he never remarried. The family moved back to Illinois when he was in his mid-30s, and he died in 1983 at age 80. He had a son, John, who became a physician and served in the Air Force in the 1980s and 1990s. His grandson, David, is the current chairman of the Board of Governors of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The elder Radford served as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and served as president of the National Museum of American History and Science. He received the Distinguished Service Medal for service in the First World War. He and his family are buried in Riverside, Illinois. His great-great-grandson, David Radford is also a former United States Navy captain and served on the USS Colorado, USS Pennsylvania, and USS Saratoga. His father was a Canadian-born electrical engineer, and his father managed the first steam turbine engines in the United states, at the Fisk Street Generating Station. The eldest of four children, Arthur was described as bright and energetic in his youth. He gained an interest in aviation during a visit to the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri. By fourth grade, he frequently drew detailed cross-section diagrams of the USS Maine.
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