Lea Ola McDonald ★ World War II Gold Star Veteran from Texas
On June 21, 1944 2nd Lieutenant McDonald was declared a casualty of World War II. ★ She served with honor in the United States Army Air Forces. ★ She is remembered by the people of Texas. ★ May her positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
We all benefit when we work together to honor fallen American service members. The Honor States archive is a grassroots initiative. Of the people, by the people, for the people.
▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of Lea Ola McDonald is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2018-05-12 21:19:05.
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Missing : Core Data
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· Location served when casualty
Missing : Supplemental Data
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Service Details
This Profile ID | 508442 |
Name | Lea Ola McDonald |
From | Seagraves, Gaines County, Texas |
Birth Date | October 12, 1921 |
Casualty Date | June 21, 1944 |
War | World War II |
Service Branch | Army Air Forces |
Rank | 2nd Lieutenant |
Specialty | Pilot |
Unit/Group | 318th AAFFTD Women Airforce Service Pilots WASP |
Casualty Type | Died Non-battle, aircrash |
Burial | Gaines County Cemetery, Seagraves, Gaines County, Texas |
Notable Awards | ★ World War II Victory Medal |
Additional Details
She was born in Hollywood, Clark County, Arkansas. Her family moved to Texas and she graduated from Plainview High School in 1938, then attended Wayland Baptist College for two years where she learned to fly in the CPT program. After that, she moved to Canyon, Texas to attend West Texas State College, graduating in 1942.
She then moved to California where she worked in a Douglas Aircraft Company factory. While there, she heard of the WASP and applied.
She flew a number of planes in training, including the B-24, B-26, At -11, and the A-24B. On June 21, 1944, while on a training flight in the B-24B, she crashed a few miles from Biggs AAFB. The accident was reported as caused by mechanical failure. One account states this was her first solo in the B-24B, and that she crashed on landing. |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ World War II Victory Medal
★ United States Aviator Badge Army
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
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