Ronald Joseph Zlatoper (March 21, 1942 – April 21, 2022) was a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

four star admiral Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe General officer, general and flag officers. Within Member states of NATO, NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to Ranks and insignia of NATO, OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star ...

who served as Commander in Chief,

United States Pacific Fleet The United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT) is a theater-level component command of the United States Navy, located in the Pacific Ocean. It provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command. Fleet headquarters is at Joint Base Pearl Harbor� ...

(

CINCPACFLT Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT), is the title of the United States Navy officer who commands the United States Pacific Fleet (USPACFLT). Originally established in 1907 as a two-star rear admiral's billet, the position has been held ...

) from 1994 to 1996. Zlatoper was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Zlatoper was the Founder of Strategic Transitions Research. He served as Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sanchez Computer Associates, Inc. He served as a Trustee of

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

. He served on the boards of Penn State University-Great Valley, Board of Advisors member of the School of Business & Public Management at the George Washington University, U.S.S. Missouri Memorial Association, and the Military Aviation Museum of the Pacific. He was a Regent for Chaminade University. He was also active on the boards of the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor; the East-West Center; the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation; Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i — Military Affairs Council; Catholic Charities Hawai'i; and was a member of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society of the United Way. During his time as an undergraduate at RPI, Ronald was a member of

Pi Kappa Phi Pi Kappa Phi (), commonly known as Pi Kapp(s), is an American Greek Letter secret and social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston ...

fraternity. He was inducted into the fraternity's hall of fame in 2014. He received his master's degree in management from the

MIT Sloan School of Management The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...

. He died on April 21, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia.

1967 USS Forrestal fire

On July 29, 1967, Zlatoper, then a Lieutenant, kept a careful record of events in the squadron duty officer log of the

1967 USS Forrestal fire On 29 July 1967, a fire broke out on board the aircraft carrier after an electrical anomaly caused a Zuni rocket on an F-4B Phantom to fire, striking an external fuel tank of an A-4 Skyhawk. The flammable jet fuel spilled across the flight dec ...

Honors

He had received numerous personal decorations including the

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

; the

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

; the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

; the Distinguished Flying Cross; the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

; the

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

; and the

Navy Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

(with

Combat "V" Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

); plus various campaign and unit awards. He is the honored recipient of the Japanese Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

and the Korean Presidential Tong Il medal. *

* Distinguished Flying Cross *

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal ribbon

Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

with Valor Device

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zlatoper, Ronald J. 1941 births 2022 deaths Military personnel from Cleveland United States Navy admirals Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni American people of Slovenian descent Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit MIT Sloan School of Management alumni Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Burials at Arlington National Cemetery