He originally sought to go to the United States Military Academy, receiving a nomination from Representative Thomas Montgomery Bell of the 9th Congressional District.

In the early 1960s, before becoming Chief of Naval Operations, he served as Commander, United States Sixth Fleet.

At the time of his selection as Chief of Naval Operations, he was the youngest full admiral in the navy, and had only received his fourth star a month prior.

[1] While serving as the Chief of Naval Operations, he denounced the alleged cover-up surrounding the 1967 USS Liberty incident: “I think that much of this is extraneous and it leaves me with the feeling that we’re trying our best to excuse the attackers…Were I a parent of one of the deceased this release would burn me up.

I myself do not subscribe to it.”[3][4] In 1976, nearly a decade after he retired, McDonald wrote in his autobiography of his participation in the escalation of the Vietnam War: Maybe we military men were all weak.