David L. McDonald

McDonald was born in Maysville, Georgia, on September 12, 1906. He originally sought to go to the United States Military Academy, receiving a nomination from Representative Thomas Montgomery Bell of the 9th Congressional District.{{Cite web |url=http://www.victorianmaysville.com/people/notables/dlm/1963_story.htm |title=New Navy Chief Recalls His Boyhood in Georgia, Atlanta Constitution Journal, June 1, 1963 |access-date=March 18, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509150332/http://www.victorianmaysville.com/people/notables/dlm/1963_story.htm |archive-date=May 9, 2008 |url-status=dead }} After learning he was 2 months and 12 days too young, he opted to attend Riverside Military Academy first, then entered the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1928.

Before becoming a naval aviator, McDonald was assigned to the battleship {{USS|Mississippi|BB-41|6}} and the battleship {{USS|Colorado|BB-45|6}}.[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0DE1DB153EF930A15751C1A961958260 David Lamar McDonald, 91, Former Senior Naval Officer, New York Times, December 23, 1997] He spent three years, from 1935 to 1938, as a flight instructor at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida. Between 1938 and 1955, he served as flag secretary of the aircraft command of the United States Atlantic Fleet, commander of the Naval Operational Training Command, executive officer of the aircraft carrier {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}} in the Pacific and assistant chief of staff for operations of the United States Pacific Fleet.

From 1951 to 1952, McDonald served as the commander of the escort carrier {{USS|Mindoro|CVE-120|6}}. During the mid-1950s, McDonald commanded the aircraft carrier {{USS|Coral Sea|CV-43|6}}. 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.

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.” https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2017/june/spy-ship-left-out-cold {{Cite book |last=Scott |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn0pk8pVE88C |title=The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship |date=2009-06-02 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-5482-0 |language=en}}

In 1976, nearly a decade after he retired, McDonald wrote in his autobiography of his participation in the escalation of the Vietnam War:

{{quote|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?"The Reminiscences of Admiral David Lamar McDonald, U.S. Navy (Retired)}}

The airfield at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, is named after McDonald.

• Navy Distinguished Service Medal with gold star
• Legion of Merit
• Bronze Star Medal with "V" device
• Navy Commendation Medal with "V" device and gold star
• Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star
• American Defense Service Medal with "A" device
• American Campaign Medal
• Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 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

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• [http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g700000/g711075c.htm Photo of McDonald as Commander, Sixth Fleet – from the Naval Historical Center] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041214001946/http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g700000/g711075c.htm |date=2004-12-14 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928120724/http://www.usscoralsea.net/pages/cos.html USS Coral Sea Commanding Officers – from USS Coral Sea Tribute Site]
• [http://www.victorianmaysville.com/history/notables/dlm/dlm1963.htm 1963 interview with McDonald] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020224637/http://www.victorianmaysville.com/history/notables/dlm/dlm1963.htm |date=2014-10-20 }}

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{{Succession box|title=Chief of Naval Operations|before=George W. Anderson Jr.|after=Thomas H. Moorer|years=1963–1967}}

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Category:1906 births

Category:1997 deaths

Category:Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:United States Navy admirals

Category:United States Naval Academy alumni

Category:Chiefs of Naval Operations

Category:United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War

Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal

Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit

Category:People from Maysville, Georgia

Category:Riverside Military Academy alumni