Edward Rowny
Encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Edward L. Rowny, born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 3, 1917, was a U.S. Army
general and an ambassador, chief U.S. negotiator in arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union
, and one of the originators of the helicopter
as a platform for combat. The citation from his Presidential Citizen's Medal, which he received in 1989, reads: "one of the principal architect's of peace through strength
policy." He served as an arms control adviser and negotiator to five presidents - Nixon
, Ford
, Carter
, Reagan
and Bush
.
Rowny earned a BS
from Johns Hopkins University
in Engineering
, and holds degrees from West Point
, Yale
(MAs in Engineering and International Affairs
) and American University
(PhD
in International Studies
).
General Rowny commanded troops in World War II
, Korea
, and Vietnam
. After the 92nd Infantry Division was decimated in the invasion of Italy in 1944, Rowny was brought in as a battalion
commander that drove the Germans up the Western coast of Italy until the end of the war. A day after the end of World War II in Europe
, he was assigned to planning the invasion of Japan
.
Assigned to General Douglas MacArthur
, he became his spokesman and one of the planners of the landing of Inchon
(September 15, 1950), which forced a North Korean retreat and enabled the taking of Seoul. Rowny was personally involved in the evacuation of UN
troops after the Chinese attack at Hagaru-ri and Koto-ri in November 1950.
During the Vietnam War he tested the helicopter as a platform for the to Army fight insurgency. Subsequently, as deputy chief to General Andrew P. O'Meara
he was in charge of relocation of NATO troops from France.
In 1971 he was appointed US representative to Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
(SALT) and held this post under three presidents, retiring from the Army in protest in 1979 over disagreement with the Carter administration. After the election of President Reagan, General Rowny was appointed to the rank of ambassador as the President's chief strategic negotiator to Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
(START) for four years and later Special Advisor for Arms Control to Presidents Reagan and Bush until he retired in 1990.
In 1990, General Rowny retired from the government to become an international consultant. Subsequently, he authored It Takes One to Tango (1992), a memoir of his service to five Presidents and his dealings with the Soviets.
A prominent Polish-American, in 1994, General Rowny became president of the Paderewski Living Memorial to perpetuate the legacy of the great Polish patriot and internationally acclaimed composer and pianist. General Rowny continues to be active as a Founding Member of American Polish Advisory Council
and the organization's Vice President.
In 2005, the 25th anniversary of Solidarity, he received the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
, along with John Paul II, Anna Walentynowicz
and the ten million unsung heroes of first free trade union, Solidarity.
In 2007, Rowny received the Walter Judd
Freedom Award from The Fund for American Studies
.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
general and an ambassador, chief U.S. negotiator in arms reduction talks with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and one of the originators of the helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
as a platform for combat. The citation from his Presidential Citizen's Medal, which he received in 1989, reads: "one of the principal architect's of peace through strength
Peace through strength
"Peace through strength" is a conservative slogan supporting military strength for the purpose of creating peaceful international relations.For supporters of the MX missile in the 1970s, the missile symbolized "peace through strength." The phrase was popular in political rallies during 1988...
policy." He served as an arms control adviser and negotiator to five presidents - Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
.
Rowny earned a BS
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
from Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
in Engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, and holds degrees from West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
, Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
(MAs in Engineering and International Affairs
International education
International education can mean many different things and its definition is debated. Some have defined two general meanings according to its involvement of students...
) and American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
(PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in International Studies
International education
International education can mean many different things and its definition is debated. Some have defined two general meanings according to its involvement of students...
).
General Rowny commanded troops in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, and Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. After the 92nd Infantry Division was decimated in the invasion of Italy in 1944, Rowny was brought in as a battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
commander that drove the Germans up the Western coast of Italy until the end of the war. A day after the end of World War II in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, he was assigned to planning the invasion of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Assigned to General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, he became his spokesman and one of the planners of the landing of Inchon
Battle of Inchon
The Battle of Inchon was an amphibious invasion and battle of the Korean War that resulted in a decisive victory and strategic reversal in favor of the United Nations . The operation involved some 75,000 troops and 261 naval vessels, and led to the recapture of the South Korean capital Seoul two...
(September 15, 1950), which forced a North Korean retreat and enabled the taking of Seoul. Rowny was personally involved in the evacuation of UN
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
troops after the Chinese attack at Hagaru-ri and Koto-ri in November 1950.
During the Vietnam War he tested the helicopter as a platform for the to Army fight insurgency. Subsequently, as deputy chief to General Andrew P. O'Meara
Andrew P. O'Meara
Andrew Pick O'Meara was a United States Army four star general who served as Commander-in-Chief, United States Southern Command from 1961 to 1965; and Commander-in-Chief, U.S...
he was in charge of relocation of NATO troops from France.
In 1971 he was appointed US representative to Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty refers to two rounds of bilateral talks and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union—the Cold War superpowers—on the issue of armament control. There were two rounds of talks and agreements: SALT I and SALT...
(SALT) and held this post under three presidents, retiring from the Army in protest in 1979 over disagreement with the Carter administration. After the election of President Reagan, General Rowny was appointed to the rank of ambassador as the President's chief strategic negotiator to Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
START I
START was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 December 1994...
(START) for four years and later Special Advisor for Arms Control to Presidents Reagan and Bush until he retired in 1990.
In 1990, General Rowny retired from the government to become an international consultant. Subsequently, he authored It Takes One to Tango (1992), a memoir of his service to five Presidents and his dealings with the Soviets.
A prominent Polish-American, in 1994, General Rowny became president of the Paderewski Living Memorial to perpetuate the legacy of the great Polish patriot and internationally acclaimed composer and pianist. General Rowny continues to be active as a Founding Member of American Polish Advisory Council
American Polish Advisory Council
The American Polish Advisory Council is a 501 organization registered in Washington DC dedicated to improving the visibility of Polish-Americans in public affairs. Its webpage is reportedly the largest nation-wide database of Polish American organizations that can be automatically updated...
and the organization's Vice President.
In 2005, the 25th anniversary of Solidarity, he received the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation is a non-profit educational organization in the United States, established as a result of an Act of Congress in 1993 with the purpose to commemorate "the deaths of over 100,000,000 victims in an unprecedented imperial communist holocaust"...
, along with John Paul II, Anna Walentynowicz
Anna Walentynowicz
Anna Walentynowicz was a Polish free trade union activist. Her firing in August 1980 was the event that ignited the strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk that very quickly paralyzed the Baltic coast and a giant wave of strikes in Poland...
and the ten million unsung heroes of first free trade union, Solidarity.
In 2007, Rowny received the Walter Judd
Walter Judd
Walter Henry Judd was an American politician best known for his battle in Congress to define the conservative position on China as all-out support for the Nationalists under Chiang Kai-sheck and opposition to the Communists under Mao...
Freedom Award from The Fund for American Studies
The Fund for American Studies
The Fund for American Studies is an educational non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1967, the organization’s stated goal is to “prepare young people for honorable leadership by educating them in the theory, practice and benefits of a free society.”-History:In 1967, Charles...
.
External links
- Interview about the SALT I negotiations for the WGBH series, War and Peace in the Nuclear Age