Frank Donald was born on February 27, 1930, in Selma, Alabama. He entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on July 3, 1951, and was commissioned a 2d Lt in the U.S. Air Force on June 3, 1955. Lt Donald next completed pilot training and was awarded his pilot wings at Greenville AFB, Mississippi, in August 1956, followed by Basic Instructor School from August to December 1956. He then served as an Instructor Pilot at Greenville AFB from December 1956 to June 1959. Capt Donald next completed Squadron Officer School in July 1959, followed by an Air Force Institute of Technology assignment to complete his Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Michigan from 1959 to 1961. Capt Donald served as an instructor at the U.S. Military Academy from 1961 to 1964, and then attended Air Command & Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, from June 1964 to June 1965. He next attended the COIN Indoctrination Course in June 1965, and then RF-101 Aircrew Familiarization from June 1965 to January 1966. Capt Donald completed TAC Survival School in May 1966, and PACAF Jungle Survival School in July 1966, and he then served as an RF-101 Voodoo pilot with the 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron and then the 20th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, from July 1966 to January 1967. Maj Donald next served on the staff at Headquarters U.S. Air Force in the Pentagon from January 1967 to January 1971, followed by T-38 Talon pilot training from January to June 1971. He served as a T-38 instructor pilot with the 361st Pilot Training Squadron at Craig AFB, Alabama, from June 1971 to June 1972, and he then attended the Aircraft Maintenance Management Course in August 1972, and the ATC Maintenance Management Course in November 1972. He served as Chief of Maintenance at Craig AFB from 1972 to 1975, followed by service in Thailand from 1975 to 1976. His final assignment was as a staff officer with Headquarters Tactical Air Command at Langley AFB, Virginia, from 1976 until his retirement from the Air Force on March 1, 1978. Frank Donald Flew West on September 4, 2010, and was buried at Barrancas National Cemetery on NAS Pensacola, Florida. His widow Mary Joe Donald (1931-2010) died 2 months later and was buried with him.

His Distinguished Flying Cross Citation reads

Captain Frank L. Donald, Jr. distinguished himself by extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as an RF-101 Photo Reconnaissance Pilot near Thai Nguyen, North Vietnam on 2 November 1966. On that date, Captain Donald led a flight of two unarmed and unescorted RF-101 aircraft on a bomb damage assessment mission into one of the most heavily defended areas of North Vietnam. Despite intense automatic weapons fire, heavy antiaircraft artillery attack, and an imminent surface-to-air missile threat, he successfully attained one hundred percent photo coverage and other new intelligence data concerning the target and surrounding area. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devotion to duty displayed by Captain Donald reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.