John Collins Harvey Jr. was born on December 17, 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1969 and received his commission from the United States Naval Academy in 1973. He subsequently entered the Navy's Nuclear Propulsion Program and later earned a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1988. During his distinguished 39-year career in the United States Navy, he specialized in naval nuclear propulsion, surface warfare, carrier strike group operations, and Navy-wide personnel management and policy development.

Throughout his naval service, Harvey held numerous operational and leadership positions at sea, commanding several warships and strike groups while deploying to regions around the world. He also served as the Navy's Chief of Naval Personnel, the service's senior uniformed human resources officer, and later as Director of the Navy Staff. His naval career culminated with his appointment as the 31st Commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, a position he held until his retirement from active duty in November 2012.

Following his retirement, Harvey joined the Board of Directors of the United States Navy Memorial Foundation and later became Chairman of the Board, helping advance the foundation's mission of honoring the men and women of the Sea Services. He also served as an outside director for AT Kearney and PSDS. From January 2014 through August 2017, Harvey served in the cabinet of Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe as the Commonwealth's Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs. In October 2017, he joined the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia, as Director of the Strategy, Forces and Resources Division.

At the time of the dedication of the Guam Lone Sailor statue in 2018, Admiral Harvey was serving as Chairman of the Board of the United States Navy Memorial Foundation, the organization responsible for the Lone Sailor Statue program.

Source of information: en.wikipedia.org, www.navy.mil
Source of photo: en.wikipedia.org