of chief of naval operations, was born a Jew ... Among Boorda's ancestors were a cantor and a Chasidic family, Landes said." Boorda believed that "people should have the opportunity to excel, and be all they can be, even if they don't get a perfect or traditional start." He committed suicide at the age of 57 in 1996. He was disturbed by pending questions about Vietnam War combat ribbons he wore; he had not had service there and was not entitled to wear them. Researchers have noted that "the most important reason that no one paid attention to Boorda's Jewish background was that ... being Jewish is no longer an issue in the military." Jews and the United States Merchant Marine On February 7, 1943 the troopship USS Henry R. Mallory was torpedoed by U-402. Among those lost was Ships Surgeon Dr. Joseph Grabenstein age 65. Secretaries of Defense James R. Schlesinger James Rodney Schlesinger (b. 1929) served as US Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He became America's first Secretary of Energy under Jimmy Carter. While Secretary of Defense, he opposed amnesty for draft resisters, and pressed for development of more sophisticated nuclear weapon systems. Additionally, his support for the A-10 and the lightweight fighter program (later the F-16) helped ensure that they were carried to completion. Schlesinger was born in New York City, the son of Rhea Lillian, a Russian Jewish immigrant, and Julius Schlesinger, an Austrian Jew. In 1960 he published The Political Economy of National Security. In 1963 he moved to the Rand Corporation, where he worked until 1969, in the later years as director of strategic studies. Harold Brown Harold Brown (b. 1927) was U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1977 to 1981 in the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter. Brown is a Jewish American born in New York City to Gertrude Cohen and A. H. Brown. He had previously served in the Lyndon Johnson administration as Director of Defense Research and Engineering and Secretary of the Air Force. While Secretary of Defense, he insisted in laying the groundwork for the Camp David accords. He took part in the strategic arms negotiations with the Soviet Union and supported (unsuccessfully), ratification of the SALT II treaty. He advocated détente with the Soviet Union. William Cohen William Sebastian Cohen (b. 1940) was a Republican who served as Secretary of Defense