Wayne George “Mac” McCarthy was born on December 8, 1917, in Altoona, Blair County, Pennsylvania. He was the son of William Raymond McCarthy and Catherine Isella Kalivay McCarthy. He was first married to Joan "Joanny" Palmer Winterling and later to Sun I. Chung. He served in the 394th Fighter Squadron, 367th Fighter Group, as a Captain and Squadron Leader during World War II.

On September 16, 1944, under his leadership, a formation of P-38 Lightning aircraft departed from Clastres Airfield in France for a mission over Germany, with the target city of Bonn. Due to bad weather over the Ardennes, visibility deteriorated, and his squadron was forced to fly on instruments. McCarthy divided the formation into two groups to reduce collision risks. Despite this, two aircraft piloted by 2Lt James F. Parker and 2Lt Charles F. Page disappeared after entering the dense overcast. Both men were killed when their aircraft crashed in Belgium, near Manhay and Lierneux. McCarthy later reported that Parker and Page had little experience with instrument-only combat flying, highlighting the difficulties of that tragic mission.

After the war, McCarthy continued his career in the U.S. Air Force and eventually rose to the rank of Major. He died on August 31, 1967, and is now buried in the United States Military Academy Post Cemetery, West Point, Orange County, New York, USA.

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