Admiral Wesley McDonald passed away on 8 Feb from a prolonged illness. He was a 1946 graduate of the US Naval Academy who earned his wings of gold in 1950. By 1964, he was in command of VA-56, an A-4 Skyhawk squadron flying off USS Ticonderoga. In the aftermath of the Gulf of Tonkin incident, he led the A-4 Skyhawk "contingent" against North Vietnam targets in the vicinity of Vinh (Operation Pierce Arrow). Before the conclusion of combat operations against North Vietnam, he commanded an Air Wing, USS Coral Sea and was a Carrier Battle Group commander as a Rear Admiral by 1972.
Ten years later, he was a full admiral and last one to simultaneously hold billets of Commander in Chief Atlantic Fleet (CINCLANTFLT, now USFFC), Commander in Chief US Atlantic Command (CINCLANT, now JFCOM) and Commander in Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT). As CINCLANT, he was in charge of Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion of Grenada in 1983. Upon his retirement in 1985, the Atlantic Fleet Command was separated from its dual hatted legacy from Atlantic Command.
Admiral McDonald continued to be a leader in aviation after retirement serving on Board of Directors with the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation, the National Naval Aviation Museum, the Armed Services YMCA and notably in the critical negotiations to merge the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and the National Aviation Club (NAC) that play a key role in sponsorship of aviation's most prestigious awards such as the Collier Trophy.
