Larry McDonald

Lawrence Patton McDonald
Born	Template:Birth date Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Died	September 1, 1983(1983-09-01) (aged 48)
Occupation(s)	Physician, politician
Years active	1957–1983
Known for	U.S. Representative for Georgia's 7th congressional district; Chairman of the John Birch Society

For the percussionist, see Larry McDonald (musician).

Not to be confused with Lanny McDonald.

Lawrence Patton McDonald (April 1, 1935 – September 1, 1983) was an American doctor and legislator who served in the United States House of Representatives for Georgia's 7th congressional district as a member of the Democratic Party from 1975 until his death. He perished as a passenger aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 after it was downed by Soviet fighter jets.

Throughout his tenure, McDonald held the most conservative voting stance of any Democrat in Congress and was a vocal opponent of communism. In 1983, shortly before his demise, he assumed the role of chairman for the John Birch Society. Among American conservatives, he is regarded as a martyr.

Early life and career

Lawrence Patton McDonald was born and grew up in the eastern section of Atlanta, Georgia, specifically within DeKalb County. He was distantly related to General George S. Patton. During his childhood, he attended multiple private and parochial school institutions before enrolling at a non-denominational high school, where he completed two years prior to graduating in 1951. Between 1951 and 1953, he pursued history studies at Davidson College. At 17, he gained admission to the Emory University School of Medicine, completing his degree in 1957. McDonald completed an internship at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta and subsequently specialized in urology at the University of Michigan Hospital under the mentorship of Reed M. Nesbit. After finishing his training in 1966, he returned to Atlanta to join his father’s medical practice.

From 1959 until 1961, McDonald served as a flight surgeon in the United States Navy, assigned to the Keflavík naval base located in Iceland. During this time, he married Anna Tryggvadottir, an Icelandic native, with whom he had three children: Tryggvi Paul, Callie Grace, and Mary Elizabeth. While stationed in Iceland, McDonald expressed concerns to his commanding officer that the U.S. Embassy in Reykjavik was engaging in activities beneficial to communists, but was advised that he lacked understanding of broader strategic considerations.

Following his military service, he practiced medicine at the McDonald Urology Clinic in Atlanta. Around 1966 or 1967, McDonald became a member of the anti-communist organization known as the John Birch Society. According to his first wife, he frequently invited thousands of guests into his home for lectures and documentary viewings inspired by Bircher ideology. His intense focus on political matters ultimately contributed to their divorce. Additionally, he gained recognition as an activist opposing abortion. McDonald ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 1972 but secured election in 1974. In 1975, he wed Kathryn Jackson after meeting her during a speech engagement in California.

He held a position on the Georgia State Medical Education Board and served as its chairman from 1969 through 1974.

U. S. Representative

In 1974, McDonald challenged the sitting congressman John W. Davis in the Democratic primary. He opposed federally mandated school integration efforts and criticized Davis for being one of only two Georgia representatives to support school busing. Additionally, McDonald condemned Davis for accepting political donations from out-of-state organizations that he claimed endorsed busing.Template:Primary source inline

McDonald secured an unexpected victory in the primary and went on to win the November 1974 general election to serve in the 94th United States Congress, representing Georgia's 7th congressional district. This district covered much of Atlanta's northwestern suburbs, including Marietta, an area with strong resistance to school busing policies. Despite a national Republican slump linked to the fallout from the Watergate scandal, Republican candidate J. Quincy Collins Jr., a former Air Force prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, nearly unseated him.

Identifying as a traditional Democrat inspired by figures such as Jefferson and Jackson, McDonald was recognized for his conservative positions, even relative to other Southern Democrats of his era. According to a ranking published in the American Journal of Political Science, he was considered the second most conservative member of Congress between 1937 and 2002, surpassed only by his close ally Ron Paul. While many voters in his district began supporting Republicans at the federal level as early as the 1960s through split-ticket voting, Democrats still dominated local offices well into the 1990s, with conservative Democrats like McDonald maintaining significant influence.

Throughout his tenure in the House, McDonald consistently received near-perfect conservative ratings from the American Conservative Union, earning a flawless score of 100 each year except for a 95 in 1978. He also earned consistently high or perfect evaluations from groups such as the National Right to Life Committee, Gun Owners of America, and the American Security Council Foundation.

McDonald held Senator Joseph McCarthy in high regard, and participated in the Joseph McCarthy Foundation. He employed former staff members from the House Un-American Activities Committee within his congressional office to continue investigations into leftist organizations; findings were shared with law enforcement agencies. Viewing communism as a global conspiracy, McDonald was an advocate of Austrian economic principles and affiliated with the Ludwig von Mises Institute. During the late '70s stagflation period, he promoted strict monetary policies and supported reinstating the gold standard.Template:Third-party inline His office displayed a portrait of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco.

Describing the welfare state as a "disaster," McDonald supported transferring control over Great Society initiatives gradually back to state governments. He also advocated for substantial reductions in foreign aid budgets. Furthermore, he co-sponsored a resolution expressing that homosexual acts and those advocating them should never be granted special legal protections or status.

Despite medical consensus dismissing it as ineffective,), McDonald promoted use of laetrile (also known as amygdalin) for patients with advanced cancer stages. In a malpractice lawsuit filed in connection to laetrile treatment in 1976, he was ordered to pay significant damages. That same year an investigation by the Atlanta Constitution revealed that a physician friend of McDonald's requested patients seeking laetrile therapy make payments payable to McDonald's congressional campaign.

McDonald opposed designating a federal holiday for Martin Luther King Jr., asserting that FBI records indicated King had connections with communist agents and was being manipulated by them. A passionate hunter and firearms collector, he reportedly kept approximately two hundred guns at his district residence.

In collaboration with journalist John Rees and retired Major General John K. Singlaub, McDonald co-founded the Western Goals Foundation in 1979. According to The Spokesman-Review, this organization aimed to counteract subversion, terrorism, and communism by addressing gaps left after dissolution of the House Un-American Activities Committee and perceived weakening of FBI capabilities during the '70s. In 1983 he succeeded Robert Welch as chairman of the John Birch Society.Template:Fix/category At his death's time Western Goals faced litigation from the ACLU over its acquisition and digitization of Los Angeles Police Department intelligence files from 1975 that had been ordered destroyed; these were stored on an expensive computer at an attorney’s residence linked to U.S intelligence agencies. Many records pertained to individuals from Governor Ronald Reagan’s administration years earlier; speculation arose that Western Goals might have been using these files for potential blackmail within Reagan's presidential team.Template:Fix/category

McDonald opposed development of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, located within his district boundaries because he questioned whether federal ownership over national parks was constitutional.

Rather than frequently addressing issues on the House floor aloud, McDonald preferred submitting written remarks into the Congressional Record. These entries often focused on foreign policy concerns involving Soviet activities and domestic threats posed by both Soviet-backed and independent leftist movements. Some writings on topics related to the Socialist Workers Party were compiled into a volume titled Trotskyism and Terror: The Strategy of Revolution, published in 1977.Template:Primary source inline

Legislation introduced

Throughout his congressional career, McDonald sponsored more than 150 legislative proposals, including measures to:Template:Third-party inline

• Repeal the Gun Control Act of 1968.
• Eliminate the cap on additional income earned by recipients of Social Security benefits.
• Confer honorary U.S. citizenship on Russian dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.
• Extend an invitation to Solzhenitsyn to speak before a joint session of Congress.
• Ban the use of Federal funds for purchasing American agricultural products by Communist nations.
• Establish a select House committee tasked with investigating human rights violations committed by Communist forces in Southeast Asia.
• Repeal FCC rules that prohibited editorializing and political candidate endorsements by noncommercial educational broadcasters.
• Form a House Committee focused on Internal Security.
• Initiate impeachment proceedings against UN Ambassador Andrew Young.
• Restrict appointment and admission to U.S. service academies exclusively to male candidates.
• Mandate an annual audit of U.S. gold reserves by the Comptroller General of the United States.
• Raise the national speed limit from 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) to 65 miles per hour (105 km/h).
• Dissolve the Federal Election Commission.
• Withdraw the United States from membership in the United Nations.
• Install statues honoring African American leaders Booker T. Washington and George Washington Carver within the U.S. Capitol.

Death

Main article: Korean Air Lines Flight 007

McDonald was invited, along with three other members of Congress—Senator Jesse Helms from North Carolina, Senator Steve Symms of Idaho, and Representative Carroll Hubbard from Kentucky—to participate in celebrations marking the 30th anniversary of the United States–South Korea Mutual Defense Treaty held in South Korea. On Sunday, August 28, 1983, poor weather conditions caused McDonald's flight departing from Atlanta to be rerouted to Baltimore. Upon finally reaching JFK Airport in New York, he missed his connecting flight to South Korea by only a few minutes.

Although McDonald had an opportunity to board a Pan Am Boeing 747 bound for Seoul, he opted for the more economical fares offered by Korean Air Lines, deciding instead to wait for the subsequent KAL flight scheduled two days later. Meanwhile, Hubbard and Helms intended to coordinate travel plans with McDonald in order to join him on KAL 007. However, as delays accumulated, Hubbard ultimately canceled his trip at the last moment due to a speaking commitment in Kentucky. Helms attempted to catch up but was also delayed.

Seated in aisle seat 02B within first class, McDonald boarded KAL 007 which departed at 12:24 AM local time on August 31 for a journey spanning approximately 3,400 miles (5,500 km) with a planned stopover in Anchorage, Alaska after seven hours. The aircraft remained grounded for ninety minutes during which it underwent refueling, restocking, cleaning, and maintenance. Passengers were given the option to disembark; however, McDonald chose to stay aboard and rest. Helms eventually arrived and invited McDonald to transfer onto his flight, KAL 015, but McDonald declined to avoid disruption.

Following crew changes, KAL 007 resumed its flight at around 4 AM local time with a nonstop route across the Pacific Ocean destined for Seoul's Kimpo International Airport, covering nearly 4,500 miles (7,200 km) over an estimated eight-hour duration. Tragically, on September 1, 1983, McDonald perished along with all passengers and crew when Soviet fighter jets under General Anatoly Kornukov's command shot down KAL 007 near Moneron Island, after it had entered Soviet airspace.

Aftermath

To his followers, McDonald became a symbol of martyrdom, believed to have been killed as part of a communist plot. His widow revealed that President Reagan was hesitant to respond aggressively toward the Soviet Union.

Following McDonald's passing, a special election was conducted to appoint a new representative for his congressional district. Former Governor Lester Maddox expressed interest in running for the seat if Kathy McDonald, Larry's widow, chose not to enter the race.

Ultimately, Kathy McDonald did run but was defeated by George "Buddy" Darden.

Tribute

A cenotaph commemorating McDonald is located at Crest Lawn Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia.

On March 18, 1998, the Georgia House of Representatives designated a segment of Interstate 75, extending from the Chattahoochee River northward to the Tennessee border, as the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway. This act honored his dedication and service to his constituents and the state.

Bibliography

Articles

• “Why Does Spotlight Attack the Real Anti-Communists?” Congressional Record, September 9, 1981.

Books

• We Hold These Truths: A Reverent Review of the U.S. Constitution. Seal Beach, CA: '76 Press, 1976. ISBN 0892450053.

Updated edition published by Larry McDonald Memorial Foundation, Inc., 1992. ISBN 978-0963280909.

• Trotskyism and Terror: The Strategy of Revolution. Introduction by M. Stanton Evans. Foreword by Marx Lewis. Washington, D.C.: ACU Education and Research Institute, 1977.

Contributed works

• “Introduction.” The Rockefeller File, authored by Gary Allen. Seal Beach, CA: '76 Press, 1976. ISBN 0892450010.
• “China in Africa.” In Sino-Soviet Intervention in Africa, by Roger Pearson. Washington, D.C.: Council on American Affairs, 1977.
• The Future of the United Nations: A Roundtable Discussion (Audiobook). Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 1977.

Includes commentary on the UN’s history, prospects, and its interactions with the United States.

Articles by other authors

• Dorman, Zach. “The Congressman Who Created His Own Deep State. Really.” Politico, December 2, 2018.

See also

• Boll weevil (politics)
• John G. Schmitz
• John Rarick
• List of members of the United States Congress killed or wounded in office
• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)
• Willem Witteveen, a politician who perished when an airliner was downed

External links

• Template:CongBio
• Larry McDonald featured on Crossfire, 1983
• "KAL 007 Mystery", Timothy Maier, Insight Magazine at the Library of Congress Web Archives (archived September 18, 2001)
• Larry P. McDonald, former U.S. representative
• Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Congressional papers of Lawrence Patton McDonald, circa 1974–1983

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