McDonald was born in Washington, D.C. on July 6, 1924. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1946 and married his high school sweetheart. He began his career as a naval aviator in 1950, serving in several carrier fighter and attack squadrons. In 1964, McDonald was the skipper of Attack Squadron VA-56 flying A-4 Skyhawks aboard the USS Ticonderoga. On August 5, 1964, he served as a flight leader for Operation Pierce Arrow, the first retaliatory strike against North Vietnam following the Gulf of Tonkin incident. McDonald led his Skyhawk strike force against oil tanks at Vinh, destroying 90% of the facility.
Career
Senior leader
McDonald's career led him to the highest levels of the United States Navy's command structure. He attended the National Defense University's National War College, graduating with the class of 1969. From 1970 to 1971, he commanded the USS Coral Sea. In 1972, as a rear admiral, McDonald was assigned as the carrier group commander. He later served as deputy chief of Naval Personnel in Washington, D.C. in 1975. In the fall of 1977, as COM2ndFLT, The U.S.S. Harry E. Yarnell served as his flagship during NATO exercises in the North Atlantic. In 1978, as Commander, U.S. Second Fleet, he embarked on the USS Arthur W. Radford on the way to NATO exercises in the North Atlantic. In 1982, McDonald was appointed Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, one of two supreme commanders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. At the same time, he assumed command of the U.S. Atlantic Command and U.S. Atlantic Fleet. In 1983, McDonald, in his role as CINCLANT, was placed in overall command of Operation Urgent Fury—the invasion of Grenada to rescue U.S. nationals. He later summed up the success of the operation in an address before the House Armed Services Committee. McDonald was the last United States Navy admiral to command all three organizations at the same time. He relinquished command of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet to Admiral Carlisle A.H. Trost, USN, on October 4, 1985, and command of the U.S. Atlantic Command and Allied Atlantic Command to Admiral Lee Baggett Jr. in November 1985.
After his retirement from the Navy in 1985, McDonald played an active role in the aviation community in his leadership positions with the National Aeronautic Association and the National Aviation Club. He helped orchestrate a merger of interests between NAA and NAC bringing benefits to both organizations. McDonald has also served on the boards of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation, the U.S. Naval Aviation Museum and the Armed Services YMCA. McDonald also often guest lectured an honors senior seminar led by Ford Foundation Fellow Professor Karl von Vorys at the University of Pennsylvania, and often took groups of students on personal tours of the Pentagon. His first wife, Norma, died in 1989. McDonald later remarried and lived in Arlington, Virginia with his wife, Helen until he died February 8, 2009 in Arlington, Virginia. He has one son and three daughters, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Admiral Wesley L. McDonald Leadership Award, jointly sponsored by Strike Fighter Wing Pacific, the San Joaquin Valley Squadron of the Association of Naval Aviation and the Greater Kings County Navy League.
The Wesley L. McDonald Elder Statesman of Aviation Award, sponsored by the National Aeronautic Association.
