BREVARD: Suntree Air Force veteran heads to D.C. for his 96th birthday

Thank you for your service!

Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Donell "Don" Mathews is celebrating his 96th birthday on Saturday and is heading to D.C.

Don flew dozens of daredevil Korean War nighttime combat missions along and near the infamous MiG Alley as a navigator aboard B-26 Invader bombers.

He retired from the Air Force in 1977, and he built a home in Suntree in 1978. He flew to Washington, D.C., to attend the Flag Day 1992 groundbreaking ceremony for the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

Now he’ll attend Wednesday's dedication ceremony of a new granite Wall of Remembrance at the Korean War Veterans Memorial.

This major expansion on the National Mall will bear the names of more than 36,000 Americans who lost their lives during the war, along with the names of more than 7,100 Koreans who died working alongside the U.S. Army.


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