Fred E. McKinsey, Jr. was born on November 21, 1919 to Fred and Teresa McKinsey. He was an only child. The McKinseys moved to Coatesville prior to 1930.
After graduating from high school, Fred helped out at his father’s store, Mac’s Men’s Shop in Coatesville. (Mac’s was sold to Mosteller’s in November, 1944.) Fred was well known in Coatesville.
Although Fred was deaf in his right ear due to a mastoid operation, he was able to enlist in the Army Air Forces on April 9, 1943. He received training for several months at Fargo, North Dakota, then received additional training to become a flight surgeon’s assistant in the Air Transport Command.