Pioneer Astronaut. During World War II, he served as a US Navy pilot in the Pacific Theater, earning the Air Medal with two Clusters and a Presidential Unit Citation. After the war, he joined Edwards Air Force Base, California in 1951, as a D-558 and X-1 test pilot. As a project pilot, he flew on the F-100, F-102, F-104 and F-107 test programs before being assigned as the third NASA X-15 pilot in October 1961. He made 29 X-15 flights, reaching an altitude of 90 km and obtaining astronaut wings, before being seriously injured in the 1962 X-15 crash near Lancaster, California. He died of liver damage stemming from his crash injuries. (bio by: John “J-Cat” Griffith)  Family links:  Parents:  Milton Barron McKay (1895 – 1974)  Wilhelmina Emaline Dearing McKay (1885 – 1970)  Spouse:  Shirley Londeree McKay (1926 – 2004)*  Children:  Shirley McKay (1961 – 1961)*  Siblings:  Rita Elizabeth McKay Johnson (1921 – 2009)*  John Barron McKay (1922 – 1975)  James Milton McKay (1922 – 1998)*  Mildred Wilhelmina McKay Hinman (1925 – 2005)*  Richard Ratcliffe McKay (1933 – 2010)* *Calculated relationship