The Reminiscences of Vice Adm. William Paden Mack, USN (Ret.), vol. I : 1915-2003

Admiral Mack was gunnery officer in the USS John D. Ford (DD-228) on the Asiatic Station when World War II began. He was involved in the early battles of Makassar Strait, Badoeng Strait, the Java Sea, and the Coral Sea. He tells of pioneering responsibilities in amphibious warfare in the Aleutians; of his duty as XO of the USS Preston (DD-795) during strikes on Japan, the Philippines, and Formosa; his duty as aide to Secretaries of the Navy Gates, Franke, and Connally; his planning of the naval review for President John F. Kennedy in 1962; his tour with General Victor H. Krulak, USMC, in counterinsurgency during Cuban Missile Crisis and the early days of involvement in Vietnam. In 1963 Mack served as Chief of Information for the Secretary of the Navy. He relates experiences when the F-111 was in the news and when the Tonkin Gulf was an issue. In the second volume of his oral history Admiral Mack continues his discussion of duties as Chief of Information and his dealings with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. Highlights in this volume include: Commander Amphibious Group Two; conducting training with Marine Corps; serving as recovery commander for various space-recovery shots; Deputy Assistant SecDef (Manpower & Reserve Affairs); working with Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird; in 1971, under CNO Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, Commander Seventh Fleet (the first post-World War II non-aviator in that job); conducting mining of Haiphong Harbor and operations against the North Vietnamese; and in 1972, Superintendent of the Naval Academy until his retirement in 1975.