Billy ‘B.R.’ McDonald

Birthplace: Enterprise, KS

Branch of Service: Navy

Unit: US Navy V-12, VR-3, 9th Naval District

Theater of Operation: American

Enlisted / Commissioned: Jun 15, 1944

Discharged: May 26, 1947

Honored By: Eisenhower Foundation

Billy Ray McDonald entered the V-12 program at Washburn Municipal University, and then was sent for training at the Naval Air Station, Olathe, Kansas. He entered Pre-flight Training School in Iowa City, Iowa, and was discharged from there at the war’s end. He entered Annapolis in the fall of 1947, but elected not to continue a naval career. He then enrolled at the University of Kansas, graduating with degrees in civil engineering and business. He married the former Mary Jean Hoffman in 1948. They had three children: Carrie, John and Drew.