HONORED ON PANEL 40W, LINE 15 OF THE WALL
COUNCIL LEE ROYAL
WALL NAME
COUNCIL L ROYAL
PANEL / LINE
40W/15
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR COUNCIL LEE ROYAL
POSTED ON 10.30.2023
POSTED BY: john fabris
honoring you.....
Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from your son David is moving and reflects his enduring love for you. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever….
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POSTED ON 10.23.2021
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik
Thank You
Dear LTC Council Royal, Thank you for your service as a Tactical Aircraft Pilot. Your 53rd anniversary was 2 days ago, sad. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Another Halloween is soon Time moves quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.
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POSTED ON 4.15.2017
POSTED BY: [email protected]
Final Mission of LTC Council L. Royal
On October 21, 1968, a USAF Douglas C-47D (#45-0934) transport plane belonging to the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base was flying military personnel from Saigon to Hong Kong for R&R with a stop at Da Nang. While enroute the pilot declared an emergency, stating that the port engine had failed and that the propeller would not feather. He requested and received vectors for an emergency landing at Ban Me Thuot Airfield, but instead hit a mountainside at the 2300-foot level approximately 19 miles southwest of Ban Me Thuot in Darlac Province, RVN. A total of 23 fatalities (some news services reported 24) resulted in the crash, including a listed 11 crewmen and 10 passengers, plus two civilians. A medical helicopter spotted the wreckage three hours after the crash. More helicopters were dispatched to the scene to remove the dead. The lost crew members included pilot LTC Howard E. Van Vliet, co-pilot LTC Council L. Royal, navigators MAJ Gerald E. Burgener and MAJ Basil L. Ciriello, flight attendant TSGT Donald W. Bruck, flight engineer TSGT John D. Thomas, flight mechanic TSGT Billy R. Morris, and crewmen (unassigned positions) MSGT William P. Bowman, SSGT Eugene W. Hendricks, LTC Robert B. Richardson, and MAJ Gerald D. Ziehe. The passengers included (USAF) TSGT Arthur L. Brewer, LTC Ray E. Codding, SSGT Karl E. Kelley Jr., SSGT Bernard F. Kissell Jr., SGT Russell E. Nihill, LTC Alden W. O’Brien, SGT Ruben E. Reyes, and CAPT Gayland O. Scott; (USA) SP5 Bruce M. Miley and SFC Klaus D. R. Ruhland. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, aviation-safety.net, togetherweserved.com, and “C-47 Crash! 24 Killed.” Chicago Tribune, October 22, 1968]
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POSTED ON 10.13.2013
POSTED BY: Curt Carter
Remembering An American Hero
Dear LTC Council Lee Royal, sir
As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.
May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.
With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir
Curt Carter
As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.
May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.
With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir
Curt Carter
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POSTED ON 1.7.2012
POSTED BY: David B. Royal
To my Dad
Just going through the old photos and realizing what my father went through from being born in a coal camp as my grandfather worked to raise a family in the great depression, and then orphaned while still a teenager. He made his own way through college, became a school teacher for a while, and then joined the newly formed US Air Force and became a pilot.
Even though I was not even 8 when he died, he instilled in me the things a young man needs to know. Now I'm 51 years old and a Colonel in the USAF myself ... and getting ready to retire. He died at only 38. It is sad, but he was doing what he thought was right ... protecting our country, and the country has did a pretty good job of taking care of my Mom, brother and I.
So all I can see is thanks Dad, and I love you.
Even though I was not even 8 when he died, he instilled in me the things a young man needs to know. Now I'm 51 years old and a Colonel in the USAF myself ... and getting ready to retire. He died at only 38. It is sad, but he was doing what he thought was right ... protecting our country, and the country has did a pretty good job of taking care of my Mom, brother and I.
So all I can see is thanks Dad, and I love you.
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