George Whelan Anderson , Jr . George Whelan Anderson , Jr . ( December 15 , 1906 – March 20 , 1992 ) was an Admiral in the United States Navy and a diplomat . He served as the Chief of Naval Operations ( CNO ) between 1961 and 1963 , and was in charge of the U . S . blockade of Cuba during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis . Early life and career . A native of Brooklyn , New York , 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 cruiser s and aircraft carrier s , including the USS " Cincinnati " . In World War II he 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 D . Eisenhower at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Radford and as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief Pacific . Flag assignments . As a flag officer he commanded Task Force 77 between Taiwan and mainland China , Carrier Div 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 United States ' quarantine 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 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 ; McNamara viewed Anderson ' s actions as mutinous and forced the Chief of Naval Operations to retire in 1963 . Many senior naval officers had believed Anderson ' s next appointment would have been to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Other public service and post - Navy career . Anderson took early retirement , largely due to ongoing conflict with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara . President John F . Kennedy subsequently 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 . Family and last years . His first wife , Muriel Buttling , died in 1947 . 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 4 great - grandchildren . He was buried on March 23 , 1992 in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery .