Thursday, December 18, 1997
 Admiral McDonald dies at 91
Built air combat force in Vietnam

By John Fritz
Florida Times-Union staff writer

Retired Adm. David L. McDonald of Jacksonville, former head of the uniformed Navy credited with building the service's combat air force that flew in Vietnam, died on Tuesday. He was 91.

Adm. McDonald served as the nation's 17th chief of naval operations - the highest uniformed post in the Navy - from 1963 to 1967. After his retirement, Adm. McDonald and his late wife, Catherine, moved to Ponte Vedra Beach and, in 1995, to Fleet Landing in Mayport.

Adm. McDonald was honored in April when the chief of naval operations, Adm. Jay Johnson, dedicated the airfield at Mayport Naval Station in his name.

''Prior to today, I have received one or two honors, but nothing like this,'' Adm. McDonald said at the time. ''This is the greatest honor of my life, and I might say the greatest surprise.''

A native of Maysville, Ga., Adm. McDonald was appointed to the Naval Academy in 1924, became a naval aviator in 1931 and rose to the rank of four-star admiral on April 1, 1963.

He died of kidney failure at Baptist Medical Center-Beaches, said his daughter, Mary Lou Thornton of Atlantic Beach.

In a statement issued yesterday, Johnson, the Navy chief, said he was ''saddened to learn of the passing of one of my heroes.''

''For me, he embodied the finest qualities of a naval officer and naval aviator, operational excellence and unparalleled leadership. Our nation owes much to him, and we'll miss him greatly,'' Johnson said.

At the outbreak of World War II, Adm. McDonald was on the USS Ranger as flag secretary to the commander for Atlantic Fleet aircraft. He served from 1942 to 1944 in Jacksonville as flight training officer for the commander of the Naval Air Operational Training Command.

After that, he was the air officer and executive officer on the carrier USS Essex and operations officer with the Pacific Fleet air force.

After making admiral's rank in 1955, Adm. McDonald became director of the Navy's air warfare division.

In remarks earlier this year, Johnson credited him with building the combat air force the Navy flew in Vietnam and with guiding the service through the initial stages of Vietnam.

Other positions held by Adm. McDonald included commander of Sixth Fleet and of U.S. naval forces in Europe and commander-inchief of Navy forces in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.

Adm. McDonald is also survived by a son, the Rev. Thomas McDonald of Orange, Calif., two grandsons and six great-grandchildren. His wife of 67 years died in November.

Adm. McDonald's daughter said her father was a man of integrity and a devoted family man. He didn't buy a house until he retired, she said, because he always wanted to be able to take his family wherever the Navy assigned him.

''We went with him everywhere, except, of course, during the war,'' Thornton said.

She said her father never aspired to become the head of the Navy. But he always strived to do his best at whatever he was assigned and that naturally bred success. ''His goal was always family, not position in your job,'' Thornton said.

At his request, Adm. McDonald will have a private funeral, followed by burial at the National Cemetery at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Inc., 25 Maryland Avenue, Annapolis, Md. 21401.