Nomination of James H. Webb, Jr., To Be Secretary of the Navy

The President today announced his intention to nominate James H. Webb, Jr., to be Secretary of the Navy. He would succeed John F. Lehman, Jr.

Since April 1984 Mr. Webb has been serving as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs. Mr. Webb has been a lecturer and author on the topics of military manpower, veterans issues, politics, and the Vietnam war. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and he received an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his coverage of the U.S. Marines in Beirut for the McNeil/Lehrer News Hour in 1983. Mr. Webb served as both assistant minority counsel and as the minority counsel for the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, 1979-1981; and he was a visiting writer at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he taught literature and lectured, 1979. He served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment in Vietnam as a rifle platoon and company commander, earning the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Star medals for valor, and two Purple Hearts.

Mr. Webb graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy (B.S., 1968) and Georgetown Law Center (J.D., 1975). He is married, has four children, and resides in Arlington, VA. Mr. Webb was born February 9, 1946, in St. Joseph, MO.