Waldemar F . A . Wendt Waldemar Frederick August Wendt ( March 15 , 1912 – October 21 , 1997 ) was a four - star admiral in the United States Navy who served as commander in chief of United States Naval Forces Europe from 1968 to 1971 . Early career . Born in Millstadt , Illinois to Reverend Paul Wendt and Wilhelmine Thowe , he was appointed in 1929 from the state of Wisconsin to the United States Naval Academy , where he rowed on the Navy crew team and was captain of varsity oarsmen in his final year . Upon graduating , he was commissioned ensign on June 1 , 1933 . His first assignment was aboard the battleship " Oklahoma " . In March 1935 he transferred to the destroyer minelayer " Ramsay " . Detached in December 1935 , he returned to the Academy as assistant coach of crew until June 1936 , when he reported aboard the destroyer leader " Moffett " until June 1939 . World War II . He attended the Naval Postgraduate School from June to September 1939 , for instruction in applied communications , but the course was cut short when President Franklin D . Roosevelt instituted Neutrality Patrol operations , in which he was engaged as gunnery officer and first lieutenant aboard the destroyer " Bainbridge " in the Panama Canal Zone until June 1940 . He then served six months as training officer on the staff of Commander Destroyer Squadron Twenty - Seven before being transferred in December to the staff of Commander Destroyer Squadron 30 until September 1943 , for duty conducting escort of convoy operations and participating in the invasion of North Africa . In December 1943 , he assumed command of the destroyer " Monaghan " in the Pacific Fleet . He commanded " Monaghan " in action during the invasions of the Marshall and Marianas Islands . He was detached from " Monaghan " in December 1944 and assigned to the Headquarters of the Commander in Chief , United States Fleet , Fleet Admiral Ernest J . King , in Washington , D . C . Less than a month later , " Monaghan " was lost in the 1944 typhoon , with only six survivors . Post - war . In late 1945 , he became head of the Pacific Section , Fleet Operations Division , Office of the Chief of Naval Operations , Navy Department . In 1947 , he reported aboard the heavy cruiser " Helena " to serve as executive officer until July 1948 , a tour that began and ended with duty in the Far East , and included a stint as " Helena " ' s commanding officer from June to September 1947 during training operations in California waters . In August he returned to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations as administrative assistant to the assistant chief of naval operations ( strategic plans ) . He was a student in the Strategy and Tactics course at the Naval War College from September 1949 to June 1950 , then served for a year as head of the Atlantic , Europe and Middle East Section , Strategic Plans Division , Office of the Assistant Chief of Naval Operations , Navy Department . In August 1951 , he joined the staff of the Commander in Chief , U . S . Atlantic Fleet , as General Plans Officer . From August 1953 to June 1954 , he commanded Escort Destroyer Division 22 ; then served on the faculty of the National War College from July 1954 to August 1956 , where he was chairman of the committee on the curriculum . He commanded the amphibious attack transport " Rankin " from October 4 , 1956 , to November 9 , 1957 , and was advanced to Commander Destroyer Squadron 36 in December 1957 . From February 1 , 1959 , he served as head of the Command and Policies Branch , Strategic Plans Division . Flag officer . Promoted to rear admiral , he assumed command on January 17 , 1960 , of U . S . Naval Forces , Marianas , with additional duty as CINCPAC representative , Marianas - Bonins , as Deputy High Commissioner of the Marianas District of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands , and as Deputy Military Governor of the Bonin - Volcano Islands ; with headquarters in Guam . In October 1961 , he became Commander Destroyer Flotilla 7 ( redesignated Cruiser - Destroyer Flotilla 7 on April 1 , 1962 ) with additional duty until November 1961 as Commander Cruiser - Destroyer Force , Pacific Fleet . From August 1962 , he was assigned as director of the Strategic Plans Division , Office of the Chief of Naval Operations . Advanced to vice admiral , he was appointed deputy commander in chief , U . S . Atlantic Fleet and chief of staff and aide to Commander in Chief Atlantic in Norfolk , Virginia on August 9 , 1965 . He became deputy chief of naval operations ( plans and policy ) on April 17 , 1967 . On May 27 , 1968 , President Lyndon B . Johnson nominated Wendt for promotion to admiral as commander in chief , U . S . Naval Forces Europe . He was confirmed by the Senate on June 6 , 1968 , and assumed his duties on July 12 , 1968 . Headquartered in London , England , Wendt was responsible for all U . S . naval operations in Europe , the eastern Atlantic Ocean , the Mediterranean Sea , North Africa , and the Middle East . He was relieved on June 30 , 1971 , and placed on the retired list with the grade of admiral on July 1 , 1971 . Personal life . In retirement he served on the Board of Overseers of the Center for Naval Analyses from 1972 to 1983 and resided in Virginia Beach , Virginia , where he was a deacon and elder of First Presbyterian Church . He died in 1997 . He married the former Folsom Ferris , of Los Angeles , California , on June 13 , 1935 ; they had three children . His decorations include three Distinguished Service Medals , awarded upon completing tours as deputy commander in chief , U . S . Atlantic Command , as deputy chief of naval operations ( plans and policy ) , and as commander in chief , U . S . Naval Forces Europe ; the Bronze Star with Combat V , awarded for commanding the destroyer " Monaghan " in action against enemy forces in the Pacific Area from January 1 to August 15 , 1944 ; and the Legion of Merit , awarded for his service as director of the Strategic Plans Division .