Thomas Hinman Moorer Thomas Hinman Moorer ( February 9 , 1912 – February 5 , 2004 ) was an admiral and naval aviator in the United States Navy who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1967 to 1970 , and as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to 1974 . Early life and education . Moorer was born in Mount Willing , Alabama on February 9 , 1912 . His father , a dentist , named his son for his favorite professor at Atlanta - Southern Dental College , Dr . Thomas Hinman . Moorer was raised in Eufaula , Alabama . Career . Moorer graduated from the United States Naval Academy on June 1 , 1933 and was commissioned an ensign . After completing Naval Aviation training at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in 1936 , he flew with fighter squadrons based on the aircraft carriers USS " Langley " , USS " Lexington " and USS " Enterprise " . World War II . In addition to his fighter experience , Moorer also qualified in seaplane s and flew with a patrol squadron in the early years of World War II . Serving with Patrol Squadron Twenty - Two at Pearl Harbor , Hawaii , when the Japanese Empire attacked on December 7 , 1941 , his squadron subsequently participated in the 1941 - 42 Dutch East Indies Campaign in the southwest Pacific , where he flew numerous combat missions . Moorer received a Purple Heart after being shot down and wounded off the coast of Australia in February 1942 and then surviving an attack on the rescue ship , which was sunk by enemy action the same day . Moorer also received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his valor three months later when he braved Japanese air superiority to fly supplies into , and evacuate wounded out of . the island of Timor . Vietnam War . Promoted to vice admiral to 1962 , and to admiral in 1964 , Moorer served both as Commander - in - Chief of the Pacific Fleet and Commander - in - Chief of the Atlantic Fleet — the first Navy officer to have commanded both fleets . Moorer was Commander - in - Chief of the U . S . Pacific Fleet at the time of the Gulf of Tonkin incident and ordered an internal investigation into the conflicting reports which emerged following the event . Moorer served as the Chief of Naval Operations between 1967 and 1970 , at the height of U . S . involvement in Vietnam and worked closely with the most senior officers in the U . S . Military and Government . He also served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 until 1974 . Moorer personally mastermined the 1972 mining of Hai Phong Harbor and believed that such an operation if such an operation had been conducted in 1964 it would have " made a significant difference in the outcome of the war . " Attack on the USS " Liberty " . Moorer believed that the attack on the USS " Liberty " in 1967 was a deliberate act on the part of the Israelis and that President Lyndon B . Johnson ordered the cover - up to maintain ties with Israel . Moorer stated that " Israel attempted to prevent the Liberty ' s radio operators from sending a call for help by jamming American emergency radio channels . [ And that ] Israeli torpedo boats machine - gunned lifeboats at close range that had been lowered to rescue the most - seriously wounded . " Moorer stated that there had been a conspiracy to cover up the event and asked whether " our government put Israel ' s interests ahead of our own ? If so , Why ? Does our government continue to subordinate American interests to Israeli interests ? " Death . Moorer died on February 5 , 2004 , at the U . S . Naval Hospital in Bethesda , Maryland at the age of 91 . He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery . Legacy . The National Guard Armory ( Fort Thomas H . Moorer Armory ) in Fort Deposit , Alabama is named after Moorer , as is a middle school in Eufaula , Alabama . Awards and decorations . Foreign personal decorations . He also has been decorated by thirteen foreign governments :