Victor Prather
|
Doctor Victor A. Prather Jr. |
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Victor A. Prather Jr. |
| Nickname(s) | Bud |
| Born |
June 4, 1926 Lapeer, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | May 4, 1961 (aged 34) At sea in the Gulf of Mexico |
| Buried at | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1943–1945, 1954–1961 |
| Rank |
 Lieutenant Commander
|
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross, Harmon Trophy |
Lieutenant Commander Victor Alonzo Prather Jr. (June 4, 1926 – May 4, 1961) was an American flight surgeon famous for taking part in "Project RAM", a government project to develop the space suit. On May 4, 1961, Prather drowned during the helicopter transfer after the landing of the Strato-Lab V balloon flight, which set an altitude record for manned balloon flight which stood until 2012.
Prather was born on June 4, 1926, in Lapeer, Michigan, to Victor Prather Sr. and Gladys May Furse. He attended Tufts College in 1943, and became part of the V-12 program stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii from 1943 to 1945. He returned to Tufts at the end of WWII and attended Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating there in 1952.
In 1954, Prather rejoined the United States Navy in the Navy Medical Corps. He was stationed in Pensacola and then transferred to San Diego, CA. While at San Diego, Prather completed courses in Aviation Medicine and qualifications in fixed wing and helicopter aircraft. He was stationed as a medical doctor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Shangri-La until 1957, when he was assigned to the U.S. Naval Air Station in Port Lyautey, Morocco as Flight Surgeon for VR-24. In 1959, Prather was reassigned to the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.
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