Thomas Hinman Moorer
In addition to his carrier-based fighter experience, Moorer also qualified in seaplanes and flew with a patrol squadron in the early years of World War II.[6] His squadron subsequently participated in the 1941–42 Dutch East Indies Campaign in the southwest Pacific, where he flew numerous combat missions.Moorer was Commander-in-Chief of the 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.[8] Moorer served as Chief of Naval Operations between 1967 and 1970, at the height of U.S. involvement in Vietnam, when he worked closely with the most senior officers in the U.S. military and government.[8] Moorer came to the conclusion 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.Naval Academy decision to not include the names of two Liberty crew members who were killed in action on a memorial wall at Bancroft Hall.Moorer angrily commented on the Academy's attempt to omit the names: "I intervened and was able to reverse the apparent idea that dying in a cowardly, one-sided attack by a supposed ally is somehow not the same as being killed by an avowed enemy.[18] The commission determined, among other things, that the state of Israel had deliberately attacked an American ship in international waters, killing 34 U.S. sailors in the process and perpetrating an act of war.While Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Moorer personally masterminded the 1972 mining of Hai Phong Harbor and believed that if such an operation had been conducted in 1964 it would have "made a significant difference in the outcome of the war."[8] Excerpts from Moorer's diary during his time as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have been declassified, and include a note about an Air Force general telling the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a 1971 meeting that in a nuclear war the United States “could lose two hundred million people and still have more than we had at the time of the Civil War.”[20] In December 1972, President Nixon ordered Operation Linebacker II, better known as the Christmas Bombings, saying to Moorer on 14 December: "I don't want any more of this crap about the fact that we couldn't hit this target or that one.[21] While chairman, Moorer was fed a steady diet of confidential documents that had been stolen by a Joint Chiefs of Staff spy ring within the White House overseen by Admiral Robert Welander, the JCS liaison officer to the National Security Council.Attorney General John Mitchell informed Moorer that the administration knew of the spy ring, but Nixon, apparently concerned about the potential political fallout, ordered that no prosecution take place.
Mount Willing, AlabamaBethesda, MarylandArlington National CemeteryUnited States NavyAdmiralChairman of the Joint Chiefs of StaffChief of Naval OperationsSupreme Allied Commander AtlanticUnited States Atlantic CommandUnited States Atlantic FleetUnited States Pacific FleetUnited States Seventh FleetUSS Salisbury SoundWorld War IIVietnam WarDefense Distinguished Service MedalNavy Distinguished Service MedalArmy Distinguished Service MedalAir Force Distinguished Service MedalSilver StarLegion of MeritDistinguished Flying CrossGray Eagle Awardnaval aviatorLyndon B. Johnsonattack on the USS Libertyspy ring within the White HouseNixon administrationdentistEufaula, AlabamaJosephSons of the American RevolutionNaval Order of the United StatesJohn J. HylandJohn S. McCain, Jr.Ephraim P. HolmesUnited States Naval AcademyNaval AviationPensacola Naval Air StationUSS LangleyUSS LexingtonUSS EnterpriseseaplanesPearl HarborHawaiiJapanese Empireattacked on December 7, 1941Dutch East Indies Campaignsouthwest PacificPurple HeartFlorence D.Bombing of DarwinGulf of Tonkin incidentVietnamWilliam L. McGonagleSecretary of the NavyPaul IgnatiusWhite HousePresident of the United StatesBancroft HallWilliam McGonagleGeorge H. W. BushJohn H. SununuBrent ScowcroftUSS Liberty incidentRaymond G. DavisJames E. AkinsHai Phong HarborOperation Linebacker IIJoint Chiefs of Staff spy ringAlexander HaigJohn EhrlichmanEspionage ActStanley KarnowU.S. Naval HospitalFort Deposit, AlabamaLieutenant (junior grade)LieutenantLieutenant CommanderCommanderCaptainVice AdmiralNaval Aviator badgeoak leaf clusteraward starsPresidential Unit Citationservice starChina Service MedalAmerican Defense Service MedalA DeviceAmerican Campaign MedalAsiatic-Pacific Campaign MedalEuropean-African-Middle Eastern Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory MedalNavy Occupation Service MedalNational Defense Service MedalArmed Forces Expeditionary MedalVietnam Service MedalPhilippine Defense MedalVietnam Campaign MedalMilitary Order of Aviz, Grand CrossOrder of the Rising SunPrecious Tripod (Pao-Ting) Medal with Red Grand CordonOrder of Cloud and Banner (Yun Hui) with Special Grand CordonPhilippine Legion of HonorOrder of the Naval Merit(Gran Estrella al Merito Militar)Order of National Security MeritOrder of Orange-NassauOrder of MeritMilitary Order of Italy, Knight of the Grand CrossGrand Cross of the Order of Naval MeritOrder of St. OlavStephen DecaturNavy League of the United StatesAuburn UniversityWilliam MitchellWings ClubSamford UniversityFrank M. HawksNational Aviation Hall of FameNational Football Foundation Gold MedalNaval History & Heritage CommandNational Security ArchiveC-SPANU.S. Grant Sharp, Jr.