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

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

four star admiral and

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

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 The 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 ...

) from 1994 to 1996. Zlatoper was born in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. As a rear admiral, Zlatoper commanded Carrier Group Seven from the during the Gulf War. 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 university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

. 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 East–West Center (EWC), or the Center for Cultural and Technical Interchange Between East and West, is an education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen relations and understanding among the peop ...

; 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 Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty Jr. on De ...

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 (branded as MIT 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 progra ...

. 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 USS ''Forrestal'' 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 ac ...

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 meritorio ...

; the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

; 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: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

; 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 establi ...

; 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 fift ...

(with

Combat "V" Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is resorted to either as a method of ...

); 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 honors system, 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 feat ...

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 fift ...

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