David L. McDonald
David L. McDonald | |
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Navy Commendation Medal |
David Lamar McDonald (September 12, 1906 – December 16, 1997) was an admiral in the United States Navy, who served as the 17th Chief of Naval Operations from 1 August 1963 to 1 August 1967 during the Vietnam War era.
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Early life and education
McDonald was born in
Before becoming a
From 1951 to 1952, McDonald served as the commander of the escort carrier USS Mindoro. During the mid-1950s, McDonald commanded the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea. In the early 1960s, before becoming Chief of Naval Operations, he served as Commander, United States Sixth Fleet. At the time of his selection as Chief of Naval Operations, he was the youngest full admiral in the navy, and had only received his fourth star a month prior.[1]
While serving as the Chief of Naval Operations, he denounced the alleged cover-up surrounding the 1967 USS Liberty incident: “I think that much of this is extraneous and it leaves me with the feeling that we’re trying our best to excuse the attackers…Were I a parent of one of the deceased this release would burn me up. I myself do not subscribe to it.”[3][4]
In 1976, nearly a decade after he retired, McDonald wrote in his autobiography of his participation in the escalation of the Vietnam War:
Maybe we military men were all weak. Maybe we should have stood up and pounded the table... I was part of it and I'm sort of ashamed of myself too. At times I wonder, "why did I go along with this stuff?"[5]
The airfield at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, is named after McDonald.
Awards
- Navy Distinguished Service Medal with gold star
- Legion of Merit
- Bronze Star Medal with "V" device
- Navy Commendation Medalwith "V" device and gold star
- Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star
- American Defense Service Medal with "A" device
- American Campaign Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medalwith one silver and one bronze star
- World War II Victory Medal
- Navy Occupation Medal
- National Defense Service Medal with star
- Philippine Liberation Medal with two stars
References
- ^ a b c "New Navy Chief Recalls His Boyhood in Georgia, Atlanta Constitution Journal, June 1, 1963". Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
- ^ a b David Lamar McDonald, 91, Former Senior Naval Officer, New York Times, December 23, 1997
- ^ https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/june/spy-ship-left-out-cold
- ISBN 978-1-4165-5482-0.
- ^ The Reminiscences of Admiral David Lamar McDonald, U.S. Navy (Retired)
External links
- Photo of McDonald as Commander, Sixth Fleet – from the Naval Historical Center Archived 2004-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
- USS Coral Sea Commanding Officers – from USS Coral Sea Tribute Site
- 1963 interview with McDonald Archived 2014-10-20 at the Wayback Machine
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