On May 16, 1996, Admiral Jeremy Michael Burda, U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, committed suicide in his home. People found a point 38 revolver and two letters around him. One to the sailors, one to his family, to why he chose to end his life.
Vague official statements and most media outlets, as Bourda's last words, "do not want the Navy to be disgraced again for his improper wearing of the medal." However, the suspicious points, certain coincidences and unconfirmed claims at the scene of the suicide never let go of the fog that hung over the incident.
Admiral Burda's suicide was caused by media criticism that he had improperly worn the "V" battle medal. Vietnam War veteran and Newsweek reporter David Coworth found Alda wearing a ribbon-bearing "V" badge at a public event in a photograph from the 1980s. Sharp and aggressive journalists have publicly accused the current supreme commander of the U.S. Navy of being an international liar. Originally, the Navy's "V" medal was awarded to personnel serving in the theater, and only those who fought bravely were eligible to wear ribbons.
Burda humbly accepted the criticism and sincerely apologized publicly for the inadvertent mistake. However, Coworth held on, accusing him of winning an undeserved reputation. ZumWalt, former chief of naval operations and then commander of the Vietnam Theater of Operations, stood up and said that I had awarded Burda's "V" medal, and that it was legitimate and appropriate for him to wear a ribbon. Burda voluntarily stopped wearing the medal that troubled him and waited for the Navy to review whether he was eligible for a ribbon.
Cobos is also looking around to investigate Burda's qualifications. Just days before Coworth and Burda agreed on a date for their meeting, tragedy struck. Burda shot himself in the chest and was rushed to hospital, but died. However, this public incident did not end with Burda's death, but on the contrary stirred up even greater waves, which eventually became an unsolved case.
The hospital determined that Burda had indeed died of a shot in the chest by a point 38 revolver, but that the gun truck belonged to the general's son-in-law. Naval sources revealed that Burda had two gunshot wounds to his chest. The Pentagon declared Burda's suicide, as described in a letter left at the scene by Burda, and President Clinton expressed condolences to his naval aides. However, Burda's posthumous letter was printed and not signed. The Navy only revealed a few words of the two letters, but the specific contents were never disclosed to the public.
This leaves a lot of room for people to imagine. For example, the book "U.S. Naval Base" argues that Burda died of being involved in a naval maladministration case. When he was the commander of the U.S. European Navy and the joint commander of southwest Europe at the Naples base, he moved his subordinates out because of the poor construction quality of the base. Before he committed suicide, corruption at the Naples base in the United States was being investigated. He also learned the day before his death that 21 sailors had been arrested at the Naples base for smuggling heroin and cocaine. Although more than three decades have passed since this suspenseful admiral suicide, there are still many who are willing to believe that Admiral Burda died in a "Komora"-style assassination like President Kennedy.
Burda was the first chief of naval operations who was not from the Naval Academy. He joined the Navy at the age of 17. How many storms have it taken 38 years from a sailor to climb to the highest position of a U.S. Navy soldier? This Navy Chief of Operations who has served in the Navy for forty years, who has been in the Navy that pays attention to his origin and rank, and who has tasted the bittersweet and bittersweet, is not so fragile? Perhaps, the death of the 57-year-old Navy's supreme commander really has too many secrets that cannot be said.
Chen Yong, assistant researcher at the Institute of International Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, authorized the exclusive manuscript