Hayden Crawford is a native of Tulsa and was commissioned as an ensign in the Navy through the ROTC program. He was assigned to the Pacific Theater as a torpedo and gunnery officer and participated in the sinking of 16 Japanese vessels.
He was wounded in March 1945 when his submarine fought a running gun action with a Japanese antisubmarine vessel. Adm. Crawford received a Purple Heart and a commendation for his "courage, leadership, and inspiration to his men." At war's end he was assigned to the staff of the commander of the Pacific Submarine Force as legal officer.
Following the war he held several Naval Reserve positions, serving with the Selected Submarine Reserve. In his active duty training, he served on many of the nuclear submarines including a tour as the Division Commander of six submarines. He served as chairman of the Naval Reserve Counseling Board of his Naval Reserve as a Rear Admiral.
In his postwar civilian career, he was Assistant City Prosecutor and Alternate Municipal Judge in Tulsa, before being appointed by President Eisenhower as US Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He later became Chief of US Attorneys. Twice he received his party's nomination for the US Senate.
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