Wesley Lee McDonald[2] (July 6, 1924 – February 8, 2009) was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator.

He led the first air strike against North Vietnam after the Gulf of Tonkin incident and was the commander in charge of Operation Urgent Fury, the invasion of Grenada to rescue American citizens.

[5][6][7] 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.

[4] McDonald led his Skyhawk strike force against oil tanks at Vinh, destroying 90% of the facility.

[8] McDonald's career led him to the highest levels of the United States Navy's command structure.

[4] 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.

[20] In 2004, McDonald was presented with the National Aeronautic Association's Cliff Henderson Award for his 56 years of support to American aviation.

[4][21] In 2007, the National Aeronautic Association renamed its Elder Statesman of Aviation Award in honor of McDonald, who was a past chairman of the organization.