Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr.
by Mike Wimmer
William J. Crowe, Jr., was born in 1925. His family moved to Oklahoma in his youth and he grew up in Oklahoma City. After a year at the University of Oklahoma, Crowe transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1946.
Following an early career in submarines, Crowe served in 1954–55 at the White House as the Assistant Naval Attaché to President Dwight D. Eisenhower. He received a Master's degree in Education from Stanford University. Crowe commanded the submarine, USS Wahoo, from 1957 to 1959.
In 1962, Crowe entered Princeton University for graduate studies and three years later, received a Ph.D. in Politics. He then served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in Washington.
Crowe served in Vietnam as the Senior Advisor to the Vietnamese Navy Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta. Following his promotion to rear admiral, Crowe commanded U.S. Naval Forces in the Persian Gulf. He then was promoted to vice admiral and became the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy and Operations.
In 1980, he was promoted to 4-star rank and was named Commander in Chief of NATO forces in Southern Europe, with headquarters in Naples, Italy. In 1983, he was named the Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces, the largest geographic command in the U.S. military.
In 1985, President Reagan appointed Crowe the 11th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation's highest military position. He served until October 1989, having declined an invitation from President Bush to remain in the position. President Clinton named Crowe the Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board in 1993.
Simon & Schuster published Admiral Crowe's book, "In the Line of Fire," in 1994. Also in 1994, Crowe was confirmed by the Senate as the American Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a position he held until September 1997.
He is married to the former Shirley Grennell of Okeene, Oklahoma. They have three children.
Admiral William J. Crowe, Jr. by Mike Wimmer was dedicated on April 14, 2004. The commission was managed by the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc.
The painting is located inside the Oklahoma State Senate lounge on the fourth floor of the Oklahoma State Capitol and can be viewed daily from 8:30-5:30 when the Senate is not in session.
The Artist
Born
and raised in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Mike Wimmer began his career as
an artist during the seventh grade. He earned his B.F.A. from the University
of Oklahoma, where he met Don Ivan Punchatz. Wimmer later moved to
Arlington, Texas to be Punchatz apprentice at Punchatz famous Sketch
Pad Studio. Wimmer learned valuable knowledge regarding the
business aspect of illustrating as well as various painting techniques
and the working methods of the local Dallas illustrators. After his two and a half year apprenticeship, he moved back to Norman, Oklahoma and
set up his own studio using all that he had learned in Texas. Since
then Wimmer has become very successful illustrating children’s
books such as “Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh” by
Robert Burliegh which was the winner of
the Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children in 1990. He also illustrated “All the Places to Love” by Patricia MacLachlan which
was published in 1994 and won the Oklahoma Book Award
for Best Illustrated Children’s Book 1995. Wimmer’s latest
book, “Will Rogers” by Former Governor Frank Keating, was
published in 2002 and has won the 2003 Spur Award from the Western
Writers Association of America. Even though Wimmer has worked for some
of the largest corporations in the world including Disney and Procter
and Gamble, Wimmer finds the greatest artistic pleasure within his
creation of fine art.