FOREWORD
BY
DONALD J. PATCHEN
Lt., USAAF
WWII Fighter Pilot and POW

To the author, Uncle Donald was only a name at the time of his death. Over the years that followed, remembering became somewhat easier for most of those who are part of this story, and as stories and pictures were shared at family gatherings, the seed of desire began to take root to know this boy who became a man in a few short months prior to his death. And as is so often the case, where there is death there is also new life, and so was born "The Donald Story."

It was not possible at the outset to visualize what would take place in the days, weeks, months, and years that followed as the process began to find answers to the myriad of questions that were beginning to come to the forefront. Where to start? At the beginning? And where was that? But believe in something strongly enough and help will arrive, and so, with hardly any recognition of its happening, "The Donald Story" began to unfold.

It is doubtful that a finger could be placed on any one point as the beginning, nor would there be a final question that would constitute the end, and it is of no real importance to try to justify a particular point as the start or finish. Rather, as with any good book, it's what lies between the covers that determines its validity and therefore its appeal.

Within the pages of "The Donald Story" one will easily find the validity that brings appeal to the story of this young man's life: through his own writings in letters to his family; through interviews and letters from his friends, both civilian and military, who were part of his short but eventful life; from the records acquired from his civilian life and military service; from his life on the farm, his dreams of things to come, and finally to one of those dreams come true: a pilot! And a fighter pilot no less! Certainly there was no wish that there be a war, but if it was to be then he wanted to be a part of it. Once committed, it was all or nothing, and as the reader will see, no one could ever have given more. His country, his family, his friends that was his life in a too short lifetime.

The author has captured this and given life to what was only a face in a picture on the mantel for some, and memories, both happy and sad (more happy than sad it is hoped), for others. She has done this with the help of an untold number of strangers who now are like friends of old, found records by means known only to her, through places visited, and by hours spent in reflecting on what was and what might have been.

When others might have given up she found continued encouragement from many but especially from her family which gives credence to her total commitment to bring life, as near as it is possible, to this face on the mantel. Dreams are the spice of life. Without them life can be very dull. With them, fantasies can be fulfilled, if only in one's mind, but still enjoyed.

From the beginning, when a desire to know this person that others talked about with so much deep feeling and love began to surface, to the dedication of an exact duplicate, by another new friend, of the plane that was so important in the young man's life, a pattern developed that was even eerie at times. If a stalemate should arise there was an almost immediate response, completely out of the blue, from an otherwise unknown (to the author at that point) with information that would fill the void of thought that had occurred and allow for continuation of "The Story." That this happened many times leads one to believe that the writing of this account was predestined. For those who were involved, new friends, new places and shared memories were the legacy that this young man left. In return, the memorial airplane and this book and the many who were a part of its creation pay final tribute to a young man remembered and who is no longer unknown.


Don Patchen

March 1995