William J. Marks

William James Marks
Born (1974-06-15) June 15, 1974
BranchU.S. Navy
RankCommander
AwardsMeritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Battle E awards, Navy's Thompson-Ravitz Award, Courage Project Award
Other workPolitical candidate for Texas' 25th Congressional District
Websitewww.williammarks.com

William Marks is a retired Commander in the U.S. Navy and a political candidate running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas's 25th congressional district. In 2025, he launched a campaign focused on affordability, ethics reform, and national security.

Marks previously served as the public affairs officer and chief spokesperson for the Defense Intelligence Agency. During his military career, he held several prominent public affairs roles, including Chief of Media for the U.S. Navy and Communications Director for the U.S. Navy’s Indo-Asia-Pacific Fleet. He was frequently featured in national and international press explaining U.S. military policy, particularly during the "War on Terror."

Marks was the principal spokesperson during the 2014 multinational Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.[1] which became the largest search in history. At the height of media coverage, Marks and his seven subordinates gave 26 interviews and responded to 200 email inquiries in a 24-hour period.[1] Over the course of 30 days, they conducted 182 live interviews.[2] While serving at the Pentagon, he acted as the lead spokesperson on environmental, medical, and legal matters.

After retiring from active-duty service in 2018, Marks joined Meta (then Facebook) as a Community Development Manager for the Western U.S., where he awarded over $10 million in grants to schools, small businesses, and nonprofits.

In 2025, Marks founded Operation Caged Bird, an initiative that raised over $70,000 to provide banned books removed from the U.S. Naval Academy library to midshipmen. For his work, he received the Courage Project Award, which recognizes individuals for acts of civic bravery.

Education

  • Amsterdam High School | National Merit semi-finalist, Hall of Fame Inductee [3]
  • U.S. Naval Academy (Class of 1996)
  • San Diego State University | Master's in Mass Communication and Media (2007)

Career

Military Service (1996–2018):

  • Served aboard USS Gettysburg, USS Spruance, USS Abraham Lincoln, and USS Blue Ridge
  • Executive Officer aboard USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”)
  • Chief of Media for U.S. Navy
  • Communications Director, U.S. 7th Fleet (Indo-Asia-Pacific)
  • Pentagon spokesperson for environmental, medical, and legal issues
  • Senior spokesperson for U.S. intelligence and Department of Defense
  • Led public affairs during MH370 search, giving 182 interviews in 30 days
  • Spoke at the Digital Summit in Washington, D.C., sharing the platform with well known speakers including Seth Godin.[4]

Meta (2018–2024):

  • Community Development Manager, Western U.S.
  • Managed $10M+ in philanthropic grants

Operation Caged Bird (2025):

  • Founder of initiative to combat book bans at the Naval Academy
  • Raised $70,000+ to provide removed books to midshipmen

Political Campaign (2025):

  • Running for U.S. House, TX-25
  • Focused on ethics, education, national security, and cost of living

Decorations

  • Courage Project Award (2025) [5]
  • U.S. Atlantic Fleet "Shiphandler of the Year"
  • Navy’s Thompson-Ravitz Award (6 times)
  • Meritorious Service Medal (4 times)
  • Navy Commendation Medal (3 times)
  • Battle E awards from USS Gettysburg and USS Abraham Lincoln

Other honors

  • Utah Business Living Color Award (2023) [6]
  • Profiled in The Hero Files (2025) [7]
  • July 16, 2004 was declared "William J. Marks Day" in Massachusetts by Governor Mitt Romney
  • Named a Boston Celtics "Heroes Among Us" in March 2004
  • Rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange

Media appearances

  • CNN – Anderson Cooper interview on Operation Caged Bird (2025)
  • Coverage of Operation Caged Bird in NYT, Washington Post, WSJ, WTOP, Book Riot
  • Featured expert on CNN regarding Iran policy and U.S. defense issues [8]
  • Marks appeared on Face the Nation on March 30, 2014

References

  1. ^ a b "2014 May-June Shipmate".
  2. ^ "Information, links and photos for William Marks". William Marks.
  3. ^ Report, Gazette Staff (June 29, 2021). "Greater Amsterdam School District Hall of Fame announces 2021 inductees". The Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  4. ^ "Digital Marketing Conference - August 27-28, 2018 - Digital Summit DC". Washington DC.
  5. ^ "The Courage Project – Submit a Hero in Your Community". thecourageproject.org. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  6. ^ "Meet the winners of the 2023 Living Color Awards". Utah Business. September 12, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  7. ^ Gamer, Nikki (June 30, 2025). "The Hero Files: William Marks". Nikki Gamer. Retrieved July 13, 2025.
  8. ^ Browne, Ryan (December 13, 2017). "US to present evidence Iran is providing missiles to Yemen rebels | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
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