As Chief of Naval Operations in charge of the US quarantine of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, Anderson distinguished himself in the Navy's conduct of those operations. Time magazine featured him on the cover[1] and called him "an aggressive blue-water sailor of unfaltering competence and uncommon flair." He had, however, a contentious relationship with Secretary of DefenseRobert S. McNamara. At one point during the crisis, Anderson ordered McNamara out of the Pentagon's Flag Plot when the Secretary inquired as to the Navy's intended procedures for stopping Soviet submarines;[2] McNamara viewed those actions as mutinous and forced Anderson to retire in 1963. Decades later, the role of Vasily Arkhipov became widely known, as the last person standing in the way of Admiral Anderson's procedures unintentionally triggering nuclear war.
Later careeredit
Anderson took early retirement, largely because of the ongoing conflict with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.[3]
President John F. Kennedy subsequently appointed 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.
Anderson's first wife was Muriel Buttling (1911–1947). His two sons were George W. Anderson III (1935–1986), who died of brain cancer, and Thomas Patrick Anderson (1942–1978), who flew more than 200 combat missions in Vietnam and died in a plane crash. His beloved daughter was Mary Annette Anderson Coughlin (1939-2022), who worked with The Hospitality and Information Service (THIS) for Diplomats. She had four children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandchild by the time of her death. [4]
Anderson died on March 20, 1992, of congestive heart failure, at the age of 85, in McLean, Virginia. He was survived by his second wife of 44 years, the former Mary Lee Sample (née Anderson), the widow of William Sample; a daughter; a stepdaughter; twelve grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. He was buried on March 23, 1992, in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery. Muriel Buttling and both sons (George III and Thomas Patrick) are also buried at Arlington.
george, whelan, anderson, december, 1906, march, 1992, admiral, united, states, navy, diplomat, serving, chief, naval, operations, between, 1961, 1963, charge, blockade, cuba, during, 1962, cuban, missile, crisis, george, andersonchair, president, intelligence. George Whelan Anderson Jr December 15 1906 March 20 1992 was an admiral in the United States Navy and a diplomat Serving as the Chief of Naval Operations between 1961 and 1963 he was in charge of the US blockade of Cuba during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis George W AndersonChair of the President s Intelligence Advisory BoardIn office May 1 1970 March 11 1976PresidentRichard NixonGerald FordPreceded byMaxwell D TaylorSucceeded byLeo CherneUnited States Ambassador to PortugalIn office October 22 1963 June 1 1966PresidentJohn F KennedyLyndon B JohnsonPreceded byCharles ElbrickSucceeded byTapley BennettChief of Naval OperationsIn office August 1 1961 August 1 1963PresidentJohn F KennedyDeputyClaude V RickettsPreceded byArleigh BurkeSucceeded byDavid L McDonaldPersonal detailsBorn 1906 12 15 December 15 1906New York City U S DiedMarch 20 1992 1992 03 20 aged 85 McLean Virginia U S EducationUnited States Naval Academy BSc Military serviceBranch serviceUnited States NavyYears of service1927 1963RankAdmiralCommandsChief of Naval OperationsUnited States Sixth FleetCarrier Division 6Task Force 77USS Franklin D RooseveltUSS MindoroBattles warsWorld War IICold WarAwardsNavy Distinguished Service Medal 2 Legion of MeritBronze Star Medal Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Flag assignments 3 Later career 4 Family and death 5 Cultural depictions 6 Awards 7 References 8 External linksEarly life and career editBorn in Brooklyn New York on December 15 1906 Anderson attended Brooklyn Preparatory School entered the United States Naval Academy in 1923 and graduated with the class of 1927 Then he became a naval aviator and served on cruisers and aircraft carriers including the USS Cincinnati In World War II Anderson served as the navigator on the fourth USS Yorktown After the war he served as the commanding officer of the escort carrier USS Mindoro and of the USS Franklin D Roosevelt He also served tours as an assistant to General Dwight Eisenhower at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Arthur W Radford and as chief of staff to the Commander in Chief Pacific Flag assignments editAs a flag officer Anderson commanded Task Force 77 between Taiwan and Mainland China Carrier Division 6 in the Mediterranean during the 1958 Lebanon landing and as a vice admiral commanded the United States Sixth Fleet As Chief of Naval Operations in charge of the US quarantine of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 Anderson distinguished himself in the Navy s conduct of those operations Time magazine featured him on the cover 1 and called him an aggressive blue water sailor of unfaltering competence and uncommon flair He had however a contentious relationship with Secretary of Defense Robert S McNamara At one point during the crisis Anderson ordered McNamara out of the Pentagon s Flag Plot when the Secretary inquired as to the Navy s intended procedures for stopping Soviet submarines 2 McNamara viewed those actions as mutinous and forced Anderson to retire in 1963 Decades later the role of Vasily Arkhipov became widely known as the last person standing in the way of Admiral Anderson s procedures unintentionally triggering nuclear war Later career editAnderson took early retirement largely because of the ongoing conflict with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara 3 President John F Kennedy subsequently appointed 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 Anderson was chairman of Lamar Advertising Company an outdoor advertising company and he was a director on the boards of Value Line National Airlines and Crown Seal and Cork Family and death editAnderson s first wife was Muriel Buttling 1911 1947 His two sons were George W Anderson III 1935 1986 who died of brain cancer and Thomas Patrick Anderson 1942 1978 who flew more than 200 combat missions in Vietnam and died in a plane crash His beloved daughter was Mary Annette Anderson Coughlin 1939 2022 who worked with The Hospitality and Information Service THIS for Diplomats She had four children nine grandchildren and one great grandchild by the time of her death 4 Anderson died on March 20 1992 of congestive heart failure at the age of 85 in McLean Virginia He was survived by his second wife of 44 years the former Mary Lee Sample nee Anderson the widow of William Sample a daughter a stepdaughter twelve grandchildren and four great grandchildren He was buried on March 23 1992 in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery Muriel Buttling and both sons George III and Thomas Patrick are also buried at Arlington Cultural depictions editAnderson was portrayed by Kenneth Tobey in The Missiles of October and Madison Mason in Thirteen Days film Awards editNavy Distinguished Service Medal with gold star Legion of Merit Bronze Star Medal Navy Commendation Medal with V device Army Commendation Medal Presidential Unit Citation with bronze star American Defense Service Medal American Campaign Medal Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with two battle stars World War II Victory Medal Navy Occupation Medal China Service Medal National Defense Service Medal with star 5 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 1st Row Navy Distinguished Service Medalw 1 award star Legion of Merit 2nd row Bronze Star Medal Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medalw Combat V Valor device Army Commendation Medal 3rd row Presidential Medal of Freedomw 1 award star American Defense Service Medalw 1 service star American Campaign Medal 4th row Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medalw 2 service stars World War II Victory Medal Navy Occupation Service Medal 5th row China Service Medal National Defense Service Medal Order of the British Empire 6th row Order of Precious Tripod with Special Rosette Unidentified Grand Cross of Royal Order of Phoenix Grand Cross 7th row Cross of the Knight Commanders Royal Order George I Military Order of Christ Great Star of Military Merit of Chile 8th row Order of Naval Merit first class of Venezuela Order of Naval Merit Grand Officer Commander of the Legion of Honour 9th row Maltese Cross the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal Grand Cross of Military Merit of Portugal Great Cross of the Order of Merit of ItalyReferences edit Chief of Naval Operations George W Anderson Time Vol LXXX no 18 November 2 1962 Cover Retrieved April 21 2019 Dallek Robert 2003 An Unfinished Life John F Kennedy 1917 1963 New York Little Brown and Company ISBN 978 0 316 17238 7 Robert McNamara s Feud with Admiral George Anderson jfk14thday com November 8 1963 Retrieved May 21 2013 Lt Cmdr T P Anderson in Crash Washington Post Washington Post June 1978 Anderson George W External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Whelan Anderson Jr Arlington National Cemetery Military offices Preceded byArleigh Burke Chief of Naval Operations1961 1963 Succeeded byDavid L McDonald Diplomatic posts Preceded byCharles Elbrick United States Ambassador to Portugal1963 1966 Succeeded byTapley Bennett Government offices Preceded byMaxwell D Taylor Chair of the President s Intelligence Advisory Board1969 1976 Succeeded byLeo Cherne Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George Whelan Anderson Jr amp oldid 1216212391, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
