Donald M. White

Military career White was at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. He was subsequently assigned to torpedo bomber squadron VT-6 aboard and participated in 1942 combat operations. He was awarded the Navy Cross for his actions during a raid on Rabaul Harbor in November 1943 and the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions at Truk Atoll in February 1944. Later in 1944, White was sent to the Naval Air Training Center in Pensacola, Florida.

From 1951 to 1953, White was assigned to NAS San Diego, becoming the operations officer in February 1951. From 1954 to 1955, he served as executive officer of the carrier .

From 1956 to 1958, White served as department head and professor of mathematics at the Naval Academy. From July 1958 to April 1959, he was given command of the ammunition ship . From June 1961 to June 1962, White was commanding officer of the carrier .

In October 1964, White was promoted to rear admiral. Given command of Carrier Division 20, his flagship retrieved the Gemini 3 astronauts and their spacecraft after their Atlantic splashdown in March 1965. Later that year, White shifted his flag to .

From 1966 to 1969, White served as commander of the Alaskan Sea Frontier. He retired from active duty in July 1970.

Personal White married Ruth Rachel Koch (23 October 1914 – 19 October 1987) on 3 June 1939 at the Naval Training Station Chapel in San Diego, California. They had five sons, a daughter and, as of 1995, fifteen grandchildren.