DONALD W WILSON
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HONORED ON PANEL 12W, LINE 11 OF THE WALL

DONALD WAYNE WILSON

WALL NAME

DONALD W WILSON

PANEL / LINE

12W/11

DATE OF BIRTH

01/26/1937

CASUALTY PROVINCE

QUANG NAM

DATE OF CASUALTY

03/16/1970

HOME OF RECORD

MASON CITY

COUNTY OF RECORD

Cerro Gordo County

STATE

IA

BRANCH OF SERVICE

NAVY

RANK

ADR1

Book a time
Contact Details

REMEMBRANCES

LEFT FOR DONALD WAYNE WILSON
POSTED ON 3.2.2024
POSTED BY: John Fabris

honoring you....

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever.
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POSTED ON 1.28.2023
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik

Thank You

Dear PO1C Donald Wilson, Thank you for your service as an Aviation Machinist's Mate (Reciprocating Engine Mechanic) 1st Class. Your 86th birthday was 2 days ago, happy birthday. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. You are remembered. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.
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POSTED ON 1.20.2022
POSTED BY: ANON

85

Never forgotten.

Semper Fortis
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POSTED ON 6.8.2016

Final Mission of ATR1 Donald W. Wilson

On March 16, 1970, a U.S. Navy EC-121K Warning Star (#145927) spy plane from Fleet Airborne Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1) with 31 crewmen aboard suffered a mechanical failure during a landing approach at a Da Nang airbase at the end of a ferry flight from Taiwan. One of the airplane's four engines had been shut down enroute due to a generator overheat problem. Furthermore, the first one thousand feet of Da Nang's runway was closed for repairs. The combination of the two factors dictated an out-of-the-ordinary approach. At 11:25 as the Warning Star was on short final, another aircraft taxied onto the active runway, forcing the EC-121 to attempt an aborted landing. The pilot banked while flying over a concrete revetment and caught the tip of the left wing on a shelter. The EC-121 immediately cartwheeled, striking another revetment containing an RF-4C and exploded. The remaining eight crewmen and two U.S. Air Force personnel on the ground were injured. The aircraft crashed 300 yards east of the runway near a busy road leading to a large American mess hall. The aircraft broke into three pieces: the cockpit and fuselage forward of the wing slid into revetment wall and burned; the center section crashed upside down into a street and burned; and the tail section landed on a softball field, ripping into a backstop (the field was deserted). One of these flying sections hit a tar truck, knocking it into two power poles. The poles were severed and live power lines were strewn over the area. Only the white tail section and part of the fuselage were distinguishable amid the scattered wreckage. The RF-4C inside the hanger was also destroyed. One man from the tail section walked away unscathed, meanwhile the four other survivors from the center section were gravely injured. Although ground personnel made heroic efforts to rescue the men aboard the EC-121, braving gasoline and jet fuel fires and the risk of electrocution, 23 men were either dead or fatally injured including pilot LCDR Harvey C. K. Aiau, LCDR Harry C. Martin, navigator LT James M. Masters Jr., co-pilot LT George L. Morningstar, co-pilot LT Robin A. Pearce, co-pilot LTJG Charles E. Pressler, navigator LTJG Jean P. Souzon, ADRC William J. Risse, AT1 Larry O. Marchbank, ATR1 Arthur D. Simmons, ATR1 Donald W. Wilson, AE2 Floyd E. Andrus III, ADR2 Stuart J. Scruggs Jr., AMS2 William P. Bletsch, ATN2 John M. Birch, ATN2 Guy T. Denton, ATN2 John S. Schaefer, ATN2 Barry M. Searby, ATR2 Joseph S. Saukaitis, ADR3 Gregory J. Asbeck, ATN3 Thurle E. Case Jr., ATN3 Ben A. Hughes Jr., and ATN3 Ralph S. Purdum. [Taken from vspa.com, aviation-safety.net, and virtualwall.org]
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POSTED ON 3.17.2014
POSTED BY: Curt Carter [email protected]

Remembering An American Hero

Dear ADR1 Donald Wayne Wilson, 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.

With respect, Sir

Curt Carter
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