George Whelan Anderson Jr.
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George Whelan Anderson, Jr. (1906 - 1992) was an Admiral in the United States Navy. He served as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) between 1961 and 1963.
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A native of Brooklyn, NY, George Whelan Anderson, Jr. entered the United States Naval Academy in 1927 and graduated with the class of 1930. After graduation he became a Naval Aviator and served on cruisers and aircraft carriers. In World War II her served as the navigator on the fourth USS Yorktown (CV-10). After the war he served as the Commanding Officer of the escort carrier USS Mindoro (CVE-120) and of the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42). He also served tours as he an assistant to General Dwight D. Eisenhower at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Pacific. As a flag officer he commanded Task Force 77 between Taiwan and mainland China, Carrier Div 6 in the Mediterranean during the Lebanon landing and the United States Sixth Fleet.
As Chief of Naval Operations in charge of the US blockade of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, Admiral Anderson distinguished himself in the Navy's conduct of those operations; Time magazine featured him on the cover and called him "an aggressive blue-water sailor of unfaltering competence and uncommon flare." However, his contentious relationship with Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara cut short his term as CNO and ended a service career that many had believed would lead to his appointment as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Pleased with his role in the Cuban missile crisis, President John F. Kennedy appointed Admiral Anderson Ambassador to Portugal, where he served for three years and encouraged plans for the peaceful transition of Portugal's African colonies to independence. He later returned to Government service from 1973 to 1977 as member and later chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
After his retirement from the Navy, he was chairman of Lamar Corporation, an outdoor advertising company, and was a director on the boards of Value Line, National Airlines and Crown Seal and Cork.
His first wife, Muriel Buttling, passed away in 1947, and his two sons, George W. Anderson III and Thomas Patrick Anderson (who flew more than 200 combat missions in Vietnam) are also deceased. Admiral Anderson died March 20, 1992 of congestive heart failure at the age of 85. He was survived by his second wife of 44 years, the former Mary Lee Sample; a daughter, a stepdaughter, 12 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He was buried on March 23, 1992 in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery.
| Preceded by: Arleigh A. Burke | United States Chief of Naval Operations 1961-1963 | Succeeded by: David L. McDonald
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