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First Name: Sumner

Last Name: Shapiro

Birthplace: Nashua, NH, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Navy (present)

Rating:





Date of Birth: 13 January 1926

Date of Death: 14 November 2006

Rank or Rate: Rear Admiral

Years Served:
Sumner Shapiro
'Shap'

   
Engagements:
•  Korean War (1950 - 1953)

Biography:

Sumner "Shap" Shapiro
Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

Sumner Shapiro was born on 13 January 1926 in Nashua, NH.

Shapiro graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1949. After graduation he began his career as a Surface Warfare Officer. He served in the Atlantic and Pacific Fleet; and during the Korean War, he served at sea and was on the staff of the Commander Naval Forces Far East which was stationed in Japan.

In 1956 he became an Intelligence Specialist Officer and was attached to the Office of Naval Intelligence at the Naval Security Group Headquarters. He was an Assistant Naval Attaché in Moscow form 1963-65, then at the U.S. Naval Forces in Europe from 1967-69, and Commanding Officer of Naval Intelligence Processing and System Support Activity from 1969-72. In the mid-1960s, Shapiro attended George Washington University and received a Master's degree in International Affairs. He also graduated from the Naval War College as well as the U.S. Army's Institute for Advanced Soviet and Eastern European Studies in Germany.

Shapiro became the senior intelligence officer for both the U.S. Atlantic Command and the U.S. Atlantic Fleet from 1972-76. This dual assignment elevated him to the rank of Rear Admiral in 1976. On 15 August 1978, Shapiro became the fifty-first Director of Naval Intelligence. He served as Director until 1982. Shapiro was fluent in Russian and felt his biggest contribution to his command was rethinking how the Navy approached its Soviet counterparts. His oversight role shaped the U.S. Navy's strategy in the 1980s and it is felt that his many contributions brought the "Cold War" to an early end.

Death and Burial

Rear Admiral Sumner Shapiro died on 14 November 2006 in McLean, VA. He is buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.



Honoree ID: 3065   Created by: MHOH

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