Edward J. O'Donnell

Edward Joseph O'Donnell (April 13, 1907 December 9, 1991) was an American naval officer. He commanded the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base from December 1960 to 1963, during which the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis occurred. He then served as senior navy member of the Military Studies and Liaison division at The Pentagon and superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School before retiring as a rear admiral in 1967. After retirement, O'Donnell was president of the New York Maritime College until 1972.

Born in Boston, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1929. He then served on various naval ships before taking command of Destroyer Division 32 in the aftermath of World War II. O'Donnell also commanded the USS George Clymer and USS New Jersey. He died in 1991.

Education Edward Joseph O'Donnell was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and attended Roman Catholic schools there. After graduating high school he attended the United States Naval Academy, graduating in 1929 with a Bachelor of Science degree and averaging academically 83rd out of the 240 midshipmen in his class.

Early naval career

O'Donnell's first assignment in the Navy was from September 1929 to May 1930 aboard the USS Florida, working engineering and deck. O'Donnell served as a gunnery officer on board the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, and served aboard her when she sank during the Battle of the Coral Sea. He later continued serving as a gunnery officer aboard the USS Birmingham, serving on her throughout many of the raids and invasions she participated in throughout the war. On the night of November 8 and 9 of 1943, days after serving in the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, the Birmingham was subjected to enemy air attacks that damaged the ship. Commander O'Donnell lead the gunnery department to defend the ship, shooting down four aircraft. For his efforts, he was awarded a Letter of Commendation from then Vice Admiral William Halsey Jr., Commander of the South Pacific Area.

From October 1958 to November 1960, O'Donnell served as Director of the Far East Region under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, J. W. Davis assumed command of Guantanamo from O'Donnell on December 22, 1962, in a change of command ceremony held at the base's golf course.

After Guantanamo, O'Donnell served as the Senior Navy Member of the Military Studies and Liaison division at The Pentagon under US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and then as superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School from 1965 to 1967. RADM O'Donnell as superintendent of the Naval Postgraduate School.

After the navy After his retirement from naval service in 1967, O'Donnell served as president of the New York Maritime College in the Bronx for six years, until 1972.

O'Donnell lived the rest of his life in Monterey, California. Ruth was also a Navy officer, commissioned in the Naval Reserve as a lieutenant (junior grade). During World War II, she was a member of the first group of WAVES and served in BUPERS. They had two sons. Ruth died at age 67 in 1980. O'Donnell remarried to Jeannette C. Carns a year later. O'Donnell died of a heart attack on December 9, 1991, age 84 years.