Individual Details
Dr./Lt. Cmdr. Victor Alonzo "Bud" PRATHER Jr., MD, USN
(4 Jun 1926 - 4 May 1961)
Events
| Birth | 4 Jun 1926 | Lapeer, Lapeer Co., MI |  | ||
| Census | 1930 | Detroit, Wayne Co., MI | | ||
| Military | Ca 1945 | U.S. Navy - WWII | |||
| Degree | 1952 | MD - Tufts University | |||
| Death | 4 May 1961 | drowned - FL | | ||
| Burial | 10 May 1961 | Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, DC | |  | |
| Marriage | Living |
Families
| Spouse | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Victory Alonzo "Victor" PRATHER (1898 - 1978) |
| Mother | Gladys May FURSE (1897 - 1930) |
| Sibling | Richard Gordon PRATHER (1930 - 2004) |
Notes
Birth
From gravestone.Census
Age 3-9/12Death
From gravestone. Prather drowned during the helicopter transfer after the landing of the Strato-Lab V balloon flight, which set an altitude record of 113,720 feet for manned balloon flight which stood until 2012. President Kennedy posthumously awarded Victor Prather the Navy Distinguished Flying Cross for 'heroism and extraordinary achievement'. The balloonists were also awarded the 1961 Harmon Trophy for Aeronauts.Burial
From: Cemeteries veterans in the United States, 1800-2004 (Ancestry.com)Endnotes
1. From: Find-A-Grave Online, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=49300864.