Second Lieutenant Joseph McDonald, USMC

The family of Major McDonald has supplied the photo above for posting on this site. The exact date of this photo is not known but it is believed probable that it was taken in 1971 during Joe's flight training at Pensacola, Florida.

Major McDonald was not connected to the USS Talbot County in any way. He was however a young man from my hometown in upstate New York who went off to war in a distant land and never returned. His family and my family are friends and we have seen them agonize over his fate for many years.

Inclusion of information here concerning Maj. McDonald may not answer any questions, but it is my hope that, in some small way at least, it may help keep his story, and that of his fellow MIA's, from slipping into oblivion.

To send our husbands, our fathers, our sons, and yes --- our daughters, off to war is in itself an unbelievable horror. An even more unbelievable horror is that some can turn their backs on those who fought for us when they became causalities of war.

Some remember the few who would not go. Shouldn't we remember even more vividly those who without hesitation picked up the mantel and answered the call to arms. Can we, in good conscience, allow them to slip away without giving them our best effort to bring them home? If we don't help them.............. who will? If we don't try to help them can we really expect anyone to step forward to help if it should happen again, possibly in our own families?

Joe was a typical small town kid. As a young boy he could often be found with a crooked grin and a dirty face. He enjoyed sports as a school aged youth and as a teenager he had a talent for repairing auto engines. As he grew a little older he, like most boy's, became seriously interested in girls and eventually he married his college sweetheart. He had favorite foods, favorite smells, favorite pastimes and favorite cars, just like you and me. Like you and me he laughed and he loved and he hurt and he cried, and he was just as real as we are. He should be just as real as we are today, ....................... and he would be except he's "still on patrol" somewhere in Southeast Asia.

Fresh out of Notre Dame University Joe attended the Marine Corps OCS program and then flight school. As a 25 year old First Lieutenant he was the pilot of a Marine Corps A6A. On May 3, 1972 his plane was launched from the USS Coral Sea on a mission over North Viet Nam, a mission from which he never returned. Some in Washington say Joe died when his plane was shot down. Others say he was taken prisoner. Some details of Joe's last flight have slowly emerged over the years but they still leave open the burning question;

WHAT HAPPENED TO JOE MCDONALD?

This plane, in flight with Navy markings, is not a photo of his plane but it is a good example of the kind of plane that Joe McDonald piloted for us.

This plane, on the ground and apparently fully armed, is another good example of the kind of plane that Joe McDonald piloted for us, it is NOT a photo of his plane.

USS Coral Sea (CV 43). A view of the flight deck on the Coral Sea as seen during a landing approach. This is the same ship and flight deck from which Maj. McDonald's final flight began.

Since Joe's disappearance the Marine Corps has promoted him to the rank of Major.

The second oldest of eight siblings he left behind a young wife and a large family. Both of Joe's parents have passed away since he disappeared. They died without ever learning their son's fate. Today his siblings continue the quest to learn the fate of their brother and you can help. Will you please help? Click the link below to learn more about Joe, then write your representatives in Washington and insist, DEMAND if necessary, a full accounting of what became of our MIA's from ALL wars. Be loud, be insistent, be consistent, be a pain in the butt to the powers that be. When it's easier for them to acknowledge you than it is for them to ignore you we may learn what happened to Joe McDonald .................... and the others like him.

If by chance or design your travels should sometime take you near our little village in upstate New York, please take the time to visit a small park dedicated to Joe and his fellow MIA's. It's located at the intersection of New York State Rte 9 and East Main Street in Wappingers Falls.

Many thank's.

Veterans Links
The original link that was located above has vanished and I have been unable to relocate it. Please use the veterans link above for general veterans information while I do additional research to locate a suitable replacement link. Thanks.

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