W. Graham Claytor Jr.

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W. Graham Claytor Jr.
President and CEO of Amtrak
In office
1982–1993
Preceded byAlan S. Boyd
Succeeded byThomas Downs
18th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
In office
August 21, 1979 – January 16, 1981
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byCharles Duncan Jr.
Succeeded byFrank Carlucci
63rd United States Secretary of the Navy
In office
February 14, 1977 – August 24, 1979
PresidentJimmy Carter
Preceded byJ. William Middendorf
Succeeded byEdward Hidalgo
Personal details
Born
William Graham Claytor Jr.

(1912-03-14)March 14, 1912
Roanoke, Virginia, U.S.
DiedMay 14, 1994(1994-05-14) (aged 82)
Bradenton, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseFrances Claytor
EducationUniversity of Virginia (BA)
Harvard University (LLB)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service1941–1946
Rank Lieutenant Commander
Battles/warsWorld War II

William Graham Claytor Jr. (March 14, 1912 – May 14, 1994) was an American

railroad, transportation and defense administrator for the United States
government, working under the administrations of three US presidents.

He is remembered for his actions as the commanding officer of the

Southern Railway and 11 years as the head of Amtrak, guiding the passenger railroad through a particularly difficult period in its history. He was named the Virginian of the Year in 1977.[1]

Early life and career

Claytor was born in

Appalachian Power
.

Claytor graduated from the

Covington and Burling
.

Career

World War II — USS Indianapolis tragedy

In 1940, soon after the start of World War II, 28-year-old Claytor attempted to enlist, but was initially rejected by the United States Navy as being too old.[citation needed] He finally joined under a special provision, based upon his previous experience in sports boating. He was assigned to the Pacific Theater.

Late in the war, Claytor became commanding officer of the destroyer escort USS Cecil J. Doyle on patrol in the Pacific Ocean.[2] In August 1945, Claytor sped without orders [citation needed] to investigate reports of men floating in the water. As Cecil J. Doyle approached the area at night, Claytor turned the ship's searchlights on the water and straight up on low clouds, lighting up the night, despite the risk of exposing his ship to possible attack by Japanese submarines.[2] These actions facilitated the rescue of the survivors of the sunken cruiser USS Indianapolis.[2]

Indianapolis had been on a secret mission and, due to a communications error, had not been reported as overdue (or missing). An estimated 900 men survived the sinking, but spent days floating in life jackets trying to fight off sharks. While only 316 were rescued out of a crew of 1199 who were aboard Indianapolis, Claytor's actions were widely credited by survivors with preventing an even greater loss of life.[citation needed]

Legal practice and Southern Railway

See also:
Southern Railway (US)

After World War II, he resumed practice of law in Washington, D.C. He became an officer of the

Southern Railway in 1963, serving as president from 1967 to 1977. Notwithstanding his legal background, Claytor was known as an "operations" man, often riding the company's trains, monitoring and questioning performance.[citation needed] In contrast to his predecessor, D. William Brosnan
, Claytor was an "employee's President," often chatting with the crews of the trains on which he rode, actively soliciting their suggestions on how to make the railroad run better. He carried this attitude with him during his later service as the President of Amtrak.

U.S. Government service

See also:
Secretary of the Navy

Claytor served as the

rights of gays to leave the service without criminal records. [citation needed
] His positions were considered by activists to be progressive for the time, leading to further progress years later in these controversial issues.

In 1979, he was appointed to the position of Deputy Secretary of Defense.[citation needed] General Colin Powell served as his military assistant.[citation needed]

In the summer of 1979, he took a brief leave from the

Acting Secretary of Transportation in President Carter's Cabinet. His service at the Transportation Department bridged the tenures of Secretary Brock Adams and Secretary Neil Goldschmidt
.

Amtrak

See also: Amtrak

In 1982, Claytor came out of retirement to lead

Reagan Administration
from 1983 to 1989.

Claytor maintained a good relationship with the

U.S. Congress during his 11 years in the position. Within 7 years of being under Claytor's leadership, Amtrak was generating enough money to cover 72 percent of its $1.7 billion operating budget by 1989, up from 48 percent in 1981.[4] This was achieved mainly through vigorous cost-cutting and aggressive marketing. He is credited with bringing political and operational stability to the nation's passenger train network, keeping the railroad functioning properly despite repeated attempts by the administrations of Ronald Reagan and his successor George H. W. Bush
to eliminate its funding.

Claytor retired from Amtrak in 1993.

Legacy and heritage

Claytor was named the Virginian of the Year in 1977.[1] In 1989, he was named Railroader of the Year by Railway Age magazine.[5]

He was the brother of

Class J 611 and Class A 1218 at the Roanoke Shops at Roanoke, Virginia, and operated excursion trips. Claytor Jr. would occasionally take the throttle as engineer with his brother on the steam excursions.[citation needed
]

Claytor died on May 14, 1994.[6]

At Amtrak's

Union Station a passenger concourse was renamed "Claytor Concourse" in his honor.[6]

"The Claytor Brothers: Virginians Building America's Railroad" is a semi-permanent exhibit at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Virginia.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "VPA's Virginian of the Year". Virginia Press Association. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
  2. ^ a b c Marks (April 1981), pp. 48–50.
  3. First Church of Christ, Scientist
    . Retrieved 2008-06-12.
  4. ^ Alpert, Mark (1989-10-23). "Still Chugging". Fortune. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  5. ^ "Hunter Harrison presented Railroader of the Year Award – Rail Update – executive vice president and chief operating officer of Canadian National/Illinois Central – Brief Article". Railway Age. April 2002. Retrieved 2007-01-13.
  6. ^ a b Lyons, Richard D. (1994-05-15). "W. Graham Claytor, Architect Of Amtrak Growth, Dies at 82". New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  7. ^ "The Claytor Brothers—Virginians Building America's Railroad". Exhibits. Virginia Museum of Transportation. Retrieved September 5, 2018.

External links
Business positions
Preceded by President of
Southern Railway

1967–1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of Amtrak
1982–1993 		Succeeded by
Thomas Downs
Government offices
Preceded by United States Secretary of the Navy
February 14, 1977 – August 24, 1979 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by United States Deputy Secretary of Defense
1979–1981 		Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by
BN
)
 Modern Railways magazine's
Man of the Year
1989 		Succeeded by
NS
)
  1. ^ L. Stanley Crane, elected in 1978 as a member of the United States National Academy of Engineering
  2. Fla.
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