Donald Boone Whitmire (July 1, 1922 – May 3, 1991) was an U.S. Navy officer and

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player who was drafted by the 1944 Green Bay Packers but choose to remain with the U.S. Navy. Whitmire was born in

Pulaski, Tennessee Pulaski is a city in and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. The population was 8,397 at the 2020 census. It was named after Casimir Pulaski, a noted Polish-born general o ...

, the son of James Buford Whitmire Sr., who would later become the police chief in

Decatur, Alabama Decatur () is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County, Alabama, Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City," it is located in North Alabam ...

, and Mary Whitmire. He attended the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

from 1940 to 1942, where he was named to the Crimson Tide All-Time Cotton and Orange Bowl teams. He would leave UA to enlist in the Marine Corps following America's entry into WWII. Recognizing his value,

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

line coach Rip Miller recruited him to complete his schooling with the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

(USNA), where he won the Knute Rockne Trophy and the academy's Thompson Trophy. He also served as a brigade commander. He is one of only four college football players to ever be named as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

at two different schools. Whitmire would be elected to the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

in 1956. After his graduation from USNA in 1946, in the same class as future President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

, Whitmire was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy, eventually retiring with the rank of

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

. Like Carter, Whitmire began his career as a submariner, where he commanded subs and a submarine division in the Atlantic. He served two tours in Vietnam, the first in command of an amphibious troop transport in 1967. He then went on to command an amphibious squadron in the Mediterranean. Whitmire is best remembered as the commander of

Task Force 76 Expeditionary Strike Group SEVEN/Task Force 76 (Amphibious Force U.S. SEVENTH Fleet) is a United States Navy task force. It is part of the United States Seventh Fleet and the USN's only permanently forward-deployed expeditionary strike group. ...

in April 1975 during the

Fall of Saigon The fall of Saigon, known in Vietnam as Reunification Day (), was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by North Vietnam on 30 April 1975. As part of the 1975 spring offensive, this decisive event led to the collapse of the So ...

. Task Force 76 provided logistical support to

Operation Eagle Pull Operation Eagle Pull was the United States military evacuation by air of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 12 April 1975. At the beginning of April 1975, Phnom Penh, one of the last remaining strongholds of the Khmer Republic, was surrounded by the Khmer ...

and

Operation Frequent Wind Operation Frequent Wind was the final phase in the evacuation of American civilians and "at-risk" Vietnamese from Saigon, South Vietnam, before the takeover of the city by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Sai ...

, providing ground and air support to retreating American forces, and taking American diplomats, dependents, and Vietnamese allies aboard ships stationed just outside Saigon. U.S. and Vietnamese forces airlifted some 1,500 American diplomats and 5,500 Vietnamese and other allied citizens to Task Force vessels in the final 24 hours of the American withdrawal. The Task Force also supported a flotilla of former U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships loaned to the

Republic of Vietnam Navy The Republic of Vietnam Navy (RVNN; - ''HQVNCH''; was the naval branch of the South Vietnamese military, the official armed forces of the former Republic of Vietnam (or South Vietnam) from 1955 to 1975. The early fleet consisted of boats f ...

, carrying some 30,000 RVNN personnel, families, and other dependents, and escorting them 1,000 miles across the China Sea to U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay, rather than surrendering them to the

Vietnam People's Navy The Vietnam People's Navy (VPN; ), internally the Naval Service (), also known as the Vietnamese People's Navy or simply Vietnam/Vietnamese Navy (), is the naval branch of the Vietnam People's Army and is responsible for the protection of the ...

. In 1977, his last assignment prior to retiring from the Navy was serving on the Atlantic Fleet staff. In 1984, he was presented with the Audie Murphy Patriotism Award by President Ronald Reagan. After his death on May 3, 1991, he was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

.Burial Detail: Whitmire, Donald B
– ANC Explorer

Military awards

Whitmire's military decorations and awards:

References

1922 births 1991 deaths People from Giles County, Tennessee Players of American football from Decatur, Alabama American football tackles Alabama Crimson Tide football players Navy Midshipmen football players All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy rear admirals United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy personnel of the Korean War United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Deaths from cancer in Virginia Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-navy-bio-stub