DECEMBER 30, 2024 – The Department of Defense mourns the loss of President Jimmy Carter at age 100—a principled leader, America’s longest-lived president, a great son of Georgia, and a steadfast champion of human rights and democratic ideals.
Americans will remember President Carter for his leadership in office and his distinguished post-presidency, but the Department also honors his sterling service in uniform.
In his Nobel Peace Prize lecture, he noted that his “first chosen career was in the military.” After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1946, the future president completed two years of surface-ship duty before beginning to work on submarines.
Lieutenant Carter was then selected to join an important program to develop nuclear-powered submarines, and he served on the first U.S. submarine built since World War II. While he was training to become an engineering officer, his father died, and the young sailor resigned from the Navy to support his family in Georgia. In 2005, the USS Jimmy Carter—a nuclear-powered submarine—was commissioned in his honor, and in 2023, Building 105 at the U.S. Naval Academy was renamed Carter Hall.
We also honor President Carter for his contributions to global security. The Carter Doctrine still helps undergird our commitment to stability and security in the Gulf.
His administration worked to strengthen NATO and U.S. alliances worldwide, grapple with the Iranian revolution, and confront Soviet aggression in Afghanistan. History will also remember President Carter for establishing official U.S. diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China and for personally brokering peace between Israel and Egypt—the first peace treaty between the Jewish state and one of its Arab neighbors.
After his White House tenure ended, President Carter and his beloved wife, the late Rosalynn Carter, founded the Carter Center and worked tirelessly to build homes for the poor, fight disease, and expand economic opportunity. And the former president loved teaching Sunday school.
President Carter’s lifelong leadership and deep faith will continue to inspire Americans and people around the world. On behalf of the entire Department of Defense, Charlene and I send our deepest condolences to the Carter family.
