John William Warner, Jr. was born Feb. 18, 1927. He is the son of Martha Budd Warner, and Dr. John W. Warner, a surgeon and physician.
In Jan. of 1945, at the age of 17, Warner enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He served on active duty until the summer of 1946 when he was honorably discharged at Petty Officer, 3rd Class, electronic technician's mate.
Following the war, he attended Washington and Lee University on the G.I. Bill, and was awarded a B.S. degree in 1949. He then entered the University of Virginia Law School.
At the outbreak of the Korean war in the summer of 1950, Warner interrupted his law studies and commenced a second tour of active military duty, beginning in Oct. of 1950. This time as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. A year later, in Oct. 1951, as a first lieutenant in communications, he volunteered for duty in Korea and served as a ground officer with the 1st Marine Air Wing. Following his active service in Korea, he remained in the Marine Corps Reserve for 10 years and was promoted to the rank of Captain.
Once he returned from Korea, Warner finished his law degree at the University of Virginia. In 1953 he was appointed an Assistant U.S. Attorney, and served 4 years in the trial and appellate divisions. He entered private law practice in 1960 with the long-established firm of Hogan & Hartson.
Warner's next public service began as the U.S. Senate confirmed his Presidential appointment to be Under Secretary of the Navy in Feb. 1969. For 5 years, during the war in Vietnam, Warner served in the Dept. of the Navy, and led the Department as Secretary from 1972-1974. During his 5 years in the Navy Secretariate, Warner was engaged in 2 key diplomatic assignments: representative for the Secretary of Defense to the Law of the Sea Talks in Geneva (1969-1973), and subsequently, as principal negotiator and signatory for the U.S. of the "Incidents at Sea Executive Agreement" between the United States and the former Soviet Union (1970-1972). This Executive Agreement remains in effect today and has been used as a model for similar agreements between other nations covering the operational directives for naval ships and aircraft in international sea lanes throughout the world.
Following his work in the Navy Department, Warner was appointed by the President to coordinate the celebration of the Bicentennial of the founding of the United States of America, directing the federal role at events in all 50 states and in 22 foreign countries.
John Warner has won five consecutive elections to the U.S. Senate, beginning in 1978. This year, Senator Warner became the second-longest serving U.S. Senator from Virginia in the 218 year history of the Senate. Now, in his 27th year in the Senate, he is privileged to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee, having begun his association with men and women in uniform 60 years ago during WWII.
