APFN
Cdr. Bill Donaldson was laid to rest today
Sat Sep 1 15:08:54 2001
Introduction
CDR. William S. Donaldson, USN Retired, challenged the official NTSB
position on the cause of the
crash of TWA Flight 800 in a series of letters to James Hall, Chairman of
the NTSB between April
1997 and today. Over the past four years, CDR.Donaldson has worked with
other Retired Aviation
Professionals, including some previous crash investigators as well as
persons inside the NTSB
investigation itself. CDR. Donaldson has extensive experience as a Naval
crash investigator and he
and others have concluded that the NTSB's explanation of the Center Wing
Tank explosion is not
credible. With the help of these other concerned aviation professionals,
CDR. Donaldson produced
an extensive report on the cause of the crash. The initial Interim Report
was delivered to the House
Aviation Subcommittee on July 16th, 1998.
Recently uncovered information now shows that TWA Flight 800 could have
been shot down by one
or more shoulder-fired missiles. The FBI was briefed by military missile
experts in the Fall of 1996
that Flight 800 was well within the range of a shoulder fired missile. The
FBI conducted a covert
dredging operation for stinger missile parts between November 1996 and
April 1997. CDR.
Donaldson brought this new evidence to the House Aviation Subcommittee in
testimony on May 6,
1999. Unfortunately, the major media and the Congress are content to
swallow the official line
without question.
http://www.twa800.com/index.htm
Bill Donaldson was laid to rest today in the family plot at Christ
Church in Chaptico, Maryland. It was a bright, sunny day in a
picturesque, rural setting in southern Maryland where the Donaldson
family has roots going back to the Revolution.
After a short delay waiting for the honor guard to arrive from
Arlington, the family and friends filed into the historic church, built in
1736, and designed by Christopher Wren.
The Honor Guard carried the flag draped casket, symbolizing service
in the armed forces of the United States. The procession was led into
the Church, filled with family and friends, by Dr. Richard Blair, a
noted piper. Rev. Sam Walker gave a moving eulogy that included a
poem written by Bill's grandmother, Mildred Carpenter Donaldson,
about her three William's. William S. Donaldson, Sr. passed away
this past December at age 101 and William S. Donaldson, Jr. was
laid to rest in 1993 with similar military honors after a long career in
the Air Force.
Dr. Walker also read a poem that I am sure Bill would have loved,
titled Aviator Heaven.
I hope there's a place, way up in the sky,
Where pilots can go, when they have to die.
A place where a guy can buy a cold beer
For a friend and a comrade, whose memory is dear.
A place where no doctor or lawyer can tread,
Nor a management type would ere be caught dead;
Just a quaint little place, kind of dark, full of smoke,
Where they like to sing loud, and love a good joke;
The kind of a place where a lady could go
And feel safe and protected, by the men she would know
There must be a place where old pilots go,
When their paining is finished, and their airspeed gets low
Where the whiskey is old, and the women are young,
And songs about flying and dying are sung,
Where you'd see all the fellows who'd flown west before,
And they'd call out your name, as you came through the door.
Who would buy you a drink, if your thirst should be bad,
And relate to the others, "He was quite a good lad! "
And then through the mist, you'd spot an old guy
You had not seen in years, though he taught you to fly.
He'd nod his old head, and grin ear to ear;
And say, "Welcome, my son, I'm pleased that you're here."
"For this is the place where true flyers come,"
"When their journey is over, and the war has been won."
"They've come here at last to be safe and alone"
"From the government clerks and the management clone,"
"Politicians and lawyers, the Feds and the noise,"
"Where all hours are happy, and these good ole boys"
"Can relax with a cool one, and a well deserved rest;"
“This is heaven, my son …You've passed your last test"
At the conclusion of the service in the church, the honor guard led the
family and friends to the grave site. It is fitting to note that Bill was
laid to rest within a few yards of his ancestor, Captain John
Carpenter, a Revolutionary War soldier who acquired the family farm
after Lord Calvert's estate was divided up.
After a short graveside service, Taps was played to mark the
beginning of a final, long sleep, and to express hope and confidence in
an ultimate reveille to come.
The Honor Guard then fired three volleys to salute Bill’s service to his
country.
The honorary pallbearers, who were positioned in reverse order of
rank to signify that in death all persons are equal, then folded the flag
and presented it to Joyce, Bill's wife, with the following words:
"On behalf of a grateful nation and a proud Navy, I present this
flag to you in recognition of your husband's years of honorable
and faithful service to his country."
http://disc.server.com/Indices/149495.html
AB
