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Aviation Machinist Mate First Class Donald Wayne Wilson was born January 26, 1937, in Mason City, Iowa. On March 16, 1970, he was one of thirty-one crewmembers aboard EC-121M Super Constellation electronic surveillance aircraft BuNo 145927, designated PR-26, assigned to Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1) stationed at Da Nang, Vietnam, which was returning to Da Nang following a flight to Tainan, Taiwan. During the flight one of the four engines had to be shut down due to mechanical difficulties. At the time, the first 1,000 feet of the De Nang runway was closed undergoing repairs and the combination of the two factors dictated an out-of-the-ordinary landing approach. As PR-26 was almost on the ground on short final, another aircraft unexpectedly taxied onto the active runway, forcing PR-26 to attempt an aborted landing. As power was applied to the engines the aircraft banked and a wingtip hit a shelter causing the plane to cartwheel, break into three pieces, strike a hanger destroying the hanger and an F-4 bomber inside, and then burst into flames. The tail section, the only part to not burn, landed on an unoccupied softball field and miraculously one survivor emerged from the tail and walked away uninjured. Unfortunately, twenty-three crewmembers, including ADR1 Wilson, were killed and the remaining seven crewmembers were hospitalized with serious injuries. The body of ADR1 Wilson was recovered and is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Mason City, Iowa, where his grave marker carries the inscription: ADR1 - US NAVY - VIETNAM. The name of ADR1 Wilson is inscribed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)
EC - 121 - BUNO145927
DONALD WAYNE WILSON Rate/Rank: ADR1 (AC) Service Branch: USN 00/0000 - 3/1970 Speciality: NAVAL AIR CREWMAN Born: 01/26/1937, MASON CITY, IOWA DIED OF NON-COMBAT CAUSE - QUANG NAM PROVINCE, SOUTH VIETNAM, 3/16/1970 SIGNIFICANT DUTY STATIONS: FLEET AIR RECONNAISSANCE SQUADRON ONE VQ-1 DA NANG, VIETNAM SIGNIFICANT AWARDS: AIR MEDAL NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL W/STAR REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL
