Retired Navy Adm. Charles R. Larson, whose impeccable credentials led to a high-profile stint in the 1990s leading the U.S. Naval Academy in the aftermath of the worst cheating scandal in the military college's history, died Saturday at his home in Annapolis, Md. He was 77.
The cause was pneumonia, said a son-in-law, Navy Cmdr. Wesley Huey, adding that the four-star admiral was diagnosed with leukemia two years ago.
A strong contender to succeed Colin Powell as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in 1993, Adm. Larson was instead passed over, and he seemed on the verge of retirement when he was asked to lead the Naval Academy.
He seemed an ideal choice, with his ramrod bearing and a career spent climbing the military ladder with distinction. A White House Fellow under Lyndon Johnson, he later served as a naval aide to President Richard Nixon and commanded a nuclear attack submarine on an espionage mission against the Soviets. In 1991, he was named commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, overseeing 350,000 military personnel spanning more than 40 countries.
Larson was also a graduate, a member of the Class of 1958 that included future Vietnam War hero, U.S. Senator and Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
The campus in Annapolis was still reeling from a December 1992 scandal that ensnared more than 130 midshipmen for cheating on an electrical engineering exam. Twenty-four midshipmen were ordered expelled, and more than 60 were reportedly found guilty of honor violations that resulted in lesser punishments. A Navy investigation exonerated nearly 40 midshipmen. About 10 did not return to Annapolis for unrelated reasons.
With a mandate to clean up the institution, Larson started a new ethics and character-development curriculum and made efforts to restore discipline. He tightened rules about when midshipmen could leave campus and wear civilian clothing and made other changes intended to give enforcement of the honor code more teeth.
After his naval retirement in 1998, Larson chaired a Maryland task force on higher education and served as vice chairman of the University System of Maryland's Board of Regents.
Charles Robert Larson was born Nov. 20, 1936, in Sioux Falls, S.D., and raised in Omaha, Neb., where his father was a telephone company employee and his mother was a teacher.
He initially trained as a naval aviator, flying off aircraft carriers, but soon switched to the nuclear submarine service, sensing accurately that they would play an ever-greater tactical and strategic role for the Navy during the Cold War.
His military decorations included the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, seven awards of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, three awards of the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal. In retirement, he was board chairman of the U.S. Naval Academy Foundation, which helps raise private money for the institution.
Survivors include his wife of 52 years, Sarah "Sally" Craig Larson, of Annapolis; three daughters, Sigrid Larson, of Philadelphia, Erica Larson, of Annapolis, and Kirsten Datko, of Arnold, Md.; a sister; and seven grandchildren.