Edward J. O'Donnell (military)

Edward J. O'Donnell
O'Donnell as a Captain in the 1950s
Born(1907-04-13)April 13, 1907
Boston, Massachusetts, US
DiedDecember 9, 1991(1991-12-09) (aged 84)
Monterey, California, US
Buried
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service1929–1967
Rank Rear Admiral
Commands
Battles/wars
Awards
Alma mater
Spouse(s)
  • LTJG Ruth Eleanor Hall (USN, ret.)
    (m. 1944; died 1980)
  • Jeannette C. Carns
    (m. 1981)

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.