WAIPAHU, HI, US
U.S. Army
CW2, CO A, 2ND BN, 25TH AV REGT, 25TH CAB, WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, HI
04/19/2012, DIVALAK, AFGHANISTAN
Sherry Viray, Don’s sister, created a website to let people get information about Don’s vigils, memorial, and burial. But, now that he is in his final resting place, this website has become a place where Sherry honors Don’s memory, and where others who still grieve for him find a feeling of relief from grieving and the pain of death. “It’s nice to know Don’s death affected others so deeply, too, as it’s a reflection on how he lived his life.”
Don Cayetano Viray was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Roosevelt High School, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. With his mother’s permission Don enlisted in the US Army at the age of 17. He carried on a family military tradition of service and dedication to his nation. Don was always a soldier at heart, and this is evident in his distinguished career as a Black Hawk (UH-60) helicopter pilot for the US Army.
Don served with a glad and generous spirit and explained that: “I wanted to be a MEDEVAC guy. To be the guy everyone wants to see. To get them out when they’re hurt and just get them help.”
CW2 Viray “… died serving his country……we must never forget the many people he rescued through the years.” At the age of twenty-five Don had already served eight years in the Army.
“The chief beauty about time is that you cannot waste it in advance. The next year, the next day, the next hour are lying ready for you, as perfect, as unspoiled, as if you had never wasted or misapplied a single moment in all your life.” ―Arnold Bennett