San Antonio veteran survived D-Day to turn 100 — and he rose from private to four-star general
As a lead navigator on D-Day, 1st Lt. William McBride was in charge of guiding a group of 18 bombers to their target.
Described by friends as a modest, low-key man, on this Memorial Day he can call himself a true survivor. McBride not only emerged unscathed from World War II andWilliam McBride celebrated his 100th birthday Wednesday at the San Antonio Country Club. A retired Air Force four-star general, he was a B-26 navigator who guided a bombing raid on D-Day.He’s a rare bird in other ways as well. McBride joined the Army Air Corps as a buck private, but rose through the ranks to become a four-star general.
“I mean, he’s a little thinner and maybe a little grayer, but that’s about it. He’s the same person, standing straight up, and can put his uniform on and look like a general,” LeFleur added. Memorial Day comes close to the June 6 anniversary of the Normandy landings, which coordinated army, naval and air arms of the United States and allied militaries well before such joint operations — on much smaller scales — became routine.
“As I look back, I am very proud that I was able to participate in it, to make a very small contribution,” he said.D-Day veteran gets medals — decades later — at San Antonio’s Fort Sam Houston “He never got a college education,” LeFleur said. “He attended New York University when he was stationed up there and took some courses, but he was one of the few four-star generals that didn’t have a college degree.”When World War II started, McBride, then 19, went to a recruiting office and joined the Army Air Corps. He had the choice of being a pilot, bombardier or navigator, but he wanted to be an officer and figured his best shot would be as a navigator because of his math skills.
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