George Whelan Anderson Junior

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George W. Anderson Jr. (1961)

George Whelan Anderson Junior (born December 15, 1906 in Brooklyn , New York City , † March 20, 1992 in McLean , Virginia ) was an Admiral in the US Navy , from 1961 to 1963 the 16th Chief of Naval Operations and therefore Commander-in- Chief of the Naval Forces during the Cuban Missile Crisis .

Military career

Anderson entered the US Naval Academy in Annapolis in 1923 and graduated four years later. He became a naval aviator . During World War II , Anderson served as a navigator on the USS Yorktown . After the war, he became the commandant of the USS Mindoro , then the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt . After his command, Anderson served ashore as an assistant to Dwight D. Eisenhower in NATO and on the staff of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Commander of the Naval Forces in the Pacific.

As a flag officer , Anderson commanded Task Force 77 and Carrier Div 6 . On August 1, 1961, Anderson was finally appointed to the post of Chief of Naval Operations (CNO). During his time as CNO, the US Navy was deployed in the Cuban Missile Crisis and suffered a major setback with the sinking of the submarine USS Thresher . In 1963, Anderson was relieved of the post of CNO due to poor relations with Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara .

Civil life

President John F. Kennedy called the admiral to be the United States Ambassador to Portugal . He returned to America after three years and was a member and later chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board between 1973 and 1977 .

After retiring, he was Chairman of Lamar Corporation and served on several corporate boards.

Anderson was married one more time after his first wife died in 1947. He had two sons, a daughter and a stepdaughter. The admiral died on March 20, 1992 of congestive heart failure . He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards:

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Anderson, George Whelan Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American admiral in the US Navy
DATE OF BIRTH December 15, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn , New York
DATE OF DEATH March 20, 1992
Place of death McLean , Virginia