Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

John Geraerdt Crommelin Jr. (2 October 1902 – 2 November 1996) was a prominent American naval officer and later a frequent

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

candidate who championed

white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White su ...

Early life and naval career

Born in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

as eldest of five brothers, he graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

in 1923. He grew up in Montgomery and in

Elmore County, Alabama Elmore County is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 87,977. Its county seat is Wetumpka. Its name is in honor of General John A. Elmore. Elmore County is part o ...

. He saw combat at the Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. All of his brothers also graduated from the US Naval Academy and two of them were killed in action during World War II. Crommelin earned a reputation as a courageous and skillful naval aviator and the 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 ''Liscome Bay'' when it was sunk in the Makin Island campaign off the

Gilbert Islands The Gilbert Islands ( gil, Tungaru;Reilly Ridgell. ''Pacific Nations and Territories: The Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia.'' 3rd. Ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 1995. p. 95. formerly Kingsmill or King's-Mill IslandsVery often, this n ...

. In 1946, Captain Crommelin was given command of the light carrier . In 1949, he was transferred to Navy headquarters in

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

at the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

during the period of time of military budget reductions and unification of the command of the services. In Washington Captain Crommelin became a vocal critic of military politics, warning of the dangers of concentrating military authority in the hands of a few, despite being in active service. He 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. During this

Revolt of the Admirals The "Revolt of the Admirals" was a policy and funding dispute within the United States government during the Cold War in 1949, involving a number of retired and active-duty United States Navy admirals. These included serving officers Admiral Lo ...

, he made public some of the confidential correspondence of top Navy commanders who were critical of the Defense Departments designs to defund the Navy. Crommelin's opposition to the civilian political authority decisions to reduce the Navy and increase reliance on the Air Force placed him in a politically untenable position. Crommelin was publicly reprimanded by Navy

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...

Forrest P. Sherman Forrest Percival Sherman (October 30, 1896 – July 22, 1951) was an Admiral (United States), admiral in the United States Navy and the youngest person to serve as Chief of Naval Operations until Admiral Elmo Zumwalt in 1970. The was named ...

and was transferred to

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Crommelin was furloughed by Admiral Sherman at half pay, beginning early in 1950. Crommelin retired from active duty with the rank of Rear Admiral in May 1950, after 30 years of service. He went to operate a part of his family plantation, named Harrogate Springs, in Elmore County, raising a variety of crops.

Political activity

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. He was an open and unapologetic

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, segregationist and

anti-Semite Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

even when such sentiments were becoming less fashionable in Alabama. Crommelin generally finished last or second-last in any election. He was nominated for

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

in 1960 by the minor, far-right, white supremacist National States' Rights Party (not to be confused with the slightly more moderate

States' Rights Democratic Party The States' Rights Democratic Party (whose members are often called the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition t ...

of 1948), as the running mate of Orval Faubus, the

Governor of Arkansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

. One of the few times that he didn't finish last in an election came in 1964, when he ran in the Democratic primary for , his home district, against 14-term incumbent George M. Grant. He was only the third substantive primary opponent that Grant had ever faced. While Crommerlin lost the primary by a 2-to-1 margin, Grant himself was routed in the general election in a backlash to the federal Democrats passing the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

. During the United States presidential election of 1968 he ran for the Democratic nomination in the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

primary, winning only 186 (0.34%) of the votes.

Legacy and personal life

Crommelin married Lillian E. Tapley in 1930. They had two daughters and one son. , commissioned in 1983 as the twenty-eighth ship of the ''Oliver Hazard Perry'' class of guided-missile

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

s, is named for John G. and his four brothers. The brothers are the only group of five siblings to graduate from the US Naval Academy, further highlighted by all five serving combat duty during World War II.

Electoral history

Alabama United States Senate election, 1950 * J. Lister Hill (D) (inc.) – 125,534 (76.54%) *John G. Crommelin (Independent) – 38,477 (23.46%) Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1956 * J. Lister Hill (inc.) – 247,519 (68.20%) *John G. Crommelin – 115,440 (31.81%) 1958 Alabama gubernatorial election (Democratic primary) * John Malcolm Patterson – 196,859 (31.82%) *

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist and ...

– 162,435 (26.26%) *

Jimmy Faulkner Jimmy Faulkner (31 January 1950 – 4 March 2008) was one of Ireland's top guitarists, who in a four-decade career played with many of Ireland's leading rock and roll, blues, folk and jazz musicians. He was born in Dolphin's Barn, Dublin to a m ...

– 91,512 (14.79%) *A.W. Todd – 59,240 (9.58%) * Laurie Battle – 38,955 (6.30%) *George Hawkins – 24,332 (3.93%) *C.C. Owen – 15,270 (2.47%) * Karl Harrison – 12,488 (2.02%) *Billy Walker – 7,963 (1.29%) *W.E. Dodd – 4,753 (0.77%) *John G. Crommelin – 2,245 (0.36%) *Shearen Elebash – 1,177 (0.19%) *James Gulatte – 798 (0.13%) *

Shorty Price William Ralph "Shorty" Price, (October 3, 1921 – November 1, 1980) was an attorney and perennial political candidate from the state of Alabama, mostly noted for his colorful "clown" persona. A native of Barbour County, he studied in the Un ...

– 655 (0.11%) Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1960 * John Sparkman (inc.) – 335,722 (86.68%) *John G. Crommelin – 51,571 (13.32%)

1960 United States presidential election The 1960 United States presidential election was the 44th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1960. In a closely contested election, Democratic United States Senator John F. Kennedy defeated the incumbent V ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

/ Lyndon B. Johnson (D) – 34,220,984 (49.9%) and 303 electoral votes (22 states carried) *

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (July 5, 1902 – February 27, 1985) was an American diplomat and Republican United States senator from Massachusetts in both Senate seats in non-consecutive terms of service and a United States ambassador. He was considered ...

(R) – 34,108,157 (49.5%) and 219 electoral votes (26 states carried) * Harry F. Byrd/

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the Republican Party nominee for presiden ...

(Independents) – 15 electoral votes (

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

unpledged and faithless electors from

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

) * Unpledged electors (D) – 286,359 (0.4%) and 0 electoral votes *

Eric Hass Eric Hass (March 4, 1905 – October 2, 1980) was a four-time Socialist Labor candidate for President of the United States. Life Hass was of German and Danish ancestry, and was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1905. He died of a heart attack in ...

Georgia Cozzini Georgia Olive Cozzini (February 14, 1915 – October 10, 1983) was an American socialist politician. She is best remembered as the first woman to run for Governor of Wisconsin and for two consecutive runs as the Vice Presidential candidate of th ...

(

Socialist Labor The Socialist Labor Party (SLP)"The name of this organization shall be Socialist Labor Party". Art. I, Sec. 1 of thadopted at the Eleventh National Convention (New York, July 1904; amended at the National Conventions 1908, 1912, 1916, 1920, 1924 ...

) – 47,522 (0.07%) *Rutherford L. Decker/ Earle Harold Munn (

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

) -–46,203 (0.07%) *

Orval E. Faubus Orval Eugene Faubus ( ; January 7, 1910 – December 14, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967, as a member of the Democratic Party. In 1957, he refused to comply with a unanimous ...

/John G. Crommelin ( National States' Rights Party) – 44,984 (0.07%) Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1962 * J. Lister Hill (inc.) – 363,613 (73.71%) *Donald G. Hallmark – 72,855 (14.77%) *John G. Crommelin – 56,822 (11.52%) Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate from Alabama, 1966 * John Sparkman (inc.) – 378,295 (56.98%) *Frank E. Dixon – 133,139 (20.05%) *John G. Crommelin – 114,622 (17.26%) *Margaret E. Stewart – 37,889 (5.71%)

1968 United States presidential election The 1968 United States presidential election was the 46th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5, 1968. The Republican nominee, former vice president Richard Nixon, defeated the Democratic nominee, incumbent vice presiden ...

(Democratic primaries) *

Eugene McCarthy Eugene Joseph McCarthy (March 29, 1916December 10, 2005) was an American politician, writer, and academic from Minnesota. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the United States Senate from 1959 to 1971. ...

– 2,914,933 (38.73%) *

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...

– 2,305,148 (30.63%) *

Stephen M. Young Stephen Marvin Young (May 4, 1889December 1, 1984) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Ohio from 1959 until 1971. Life and career Young was born o ...

– 549,140 (7.30%) * Lyndon B. Johnson – 383,590 (5.10%) * Thomas C. Lynch – 380,286 (5.05%) *

Roger D. Branigin Roger Douglas Branigin (July 26, 1902 – November 19, 1975) was an American politician who was the List of governors of Indiana, 42nd governor of Indiana, serving from January 11, 1965, to January 13, 1969. A World War II veteran and well-kno ...

– 238,700 (3.17%) * George Smathers – 236,242 (3.14%) *

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

– 166,463 (2.21%) * Unpledged – 161,143 (2.14%) * Scott Kelly – 128,899 (1.71%) *

– 34,489 (0.46%) *

(write-in) – 13,610 (0.18%) *

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

(write-in) – 5,309 (0.07%) *

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

– 4,052 (0.05%) *

Paul C. Fisher Paul C. Fisher (October 10, 1913 – October 20, 2006) was an American inventor and politician. He invented the Fisher Space Pen.DeBartolo, Anthony (1991-04-28''Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved 2007-06-27. Fisher was born in Lebanon, Kansas, the s ...

– 506 (0.01%) *John G. Crommelin – 186 (0.00%)

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * Barlow, Jeffrey G. ''Revolt of the Admirals: The Fight for Naval Aviation, 1945–1950''. Washington, D.C.: Naval Historical Center, 1994. . * *
OurCampaign.org profile with electoral history
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crommelin, John G. 1902 births 1996 deaths 20th-century far-right politicians in the United States Candidates in the 1968 United States presidential election 1960 United States vice-presidential candidates 20th-century American politicians Alabama Democrats United States Navy personnel of World War II American white supremacists Military personnel from Montgomery, Alabama National States' Rights Party politicians Politicians from Montgomery, Alabama United States Navy rear admirals United States Naval Academy alumni United States Naval Aviators American segregationists