Happy Memorial Day!

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Thebeerchaser

Before I cover some other topics in this post, it’s fitting on this 2026 Memorial Day to pay tribute to the sacrifices of U.S. military members who lost their lives in service to the country, both in wartime and peacetime. And a salute to those who have served or are serving now as well.

One of those most meaningful to me is my namesake, Captain Don Wilburn. I relate the story of this SAE fraternity brother of my dad at George Washington University. After college, Don was a World War II flyer – an officer in the US Army Air Corps.

External Photo Attribution at the end of the post. (#1 – #3)

Through the tireless efforts of his late brother, Gene, (shown above), Jason and Laura Garver and Sue Froehlich in May 2025, Don was finally awarded a posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross for his outstanding and heroic achievement on a 1942 top secret flight – one of a number as part of Operation Rusty over North Africa.

The second of two blog posts on this remarkable story is below: https://thebeerchaser.com/2025/07/24/beerchaser-notables-captain-don-wilburn-us-army-air-corps-part-ii/

Literally and Figuratively

Lawyers are trained to understand and focus on the nuances of the English language – to look at the different ways a word or phrase can be interpreted. Many times this means taking a literal meaning when it is counterintuitive.

As one attorney friend analogized, stating, “It’s hard to explain things to a kleptomaniac because they always take thing literally.”

Although not a lawyer, having worked around them for over thirty years – the last twelve as the COO of a large Northwest regional law firm with multiple offices, I acclimated to this pattern and really enjoyed the ongoing cerebral stimulation.

This linguistic practice isn’t just taught in law school. I call it a factor in the “lawyer mentality” and some future lawyers acquire it while still very young. I love the story of the troubled parent who posted:

“This morning my kid said his ear hurt and I said, ‘On the outside or inside?’ He walked out the door, came back in and said, ‘Both.'”

“Sorry I asked..!” (#4)

Or take the female lawyer, who was out running through downtown Portland after work and was jogging in place waiting for a light to change (lawyers are rule-oriented). A big dog on a leash is waiting next to her. A guy walks up to her and says, “I love German Shepherds. Does your dog bite?”

She replies, “No,” whereupon the guy leans down and pets the dog only to receive a bite on the hand from the canine. The guy angrily says, “I thought you said your dog doesn’t bite?” As she jogs off, she replies, “I did.That’s not my dog.”

And I swear, these next two actually happened and reflect the great organizational sense of humor of the Schwabe firm where I worked for twenty-five years. Schwabe for many years did pro-bono work for low-income people needing legal services.

One of my favorite lawyers sent an e-mail to firm lawyers stating: “Hey, I’m working for the Legal Clinic and my client is Hispanic. I haven’t taken Spanish since high school. Can someone help me call the client?” Less than a minute later, the reply came back, “Yes, just dial 9 and the client’s number.” (#5)

On the day before holidays, we would often (but not automatically) close early. The day before one Thanksgiving, our Director of Support Services sent the following email: “Since we will be closing early today, for the rest of the day, please let me know the timing and extent of your Support Service needs ASAP.”

The immediate reply was, “Could you define ‘early’ for me? Does it mean, ‘Now’?”

I Could Go On….

And possibly will in a future post because I have many examples I saved in my files which my wife of forty-six years reminds me I should have recycled when we moved into our new house two years ago.

Now that I’m retired, I love surfing the web for information and subscribe to electronic newsletters on everything from health tips, to home “hacks” to travel suggestions – even to law firm trends when I want to reaffirm how happy I am that I retired before the pandemic and the advent of AI.

Anticipating this blog post, I took a couple of these and applied the “literal” paradigm to them. For example, HouseOutlook.com suggested recently, “Skip the Pesticides — Try Beer Instead.” They described how to make a beer trap:

“Bury a shallow container so the rim sits about an inch above the soil; then, fill it with an inch of cheap lager. This height…allows slugs — who are expert climbers — to scale the lip and perish in the pool of alcohol below.

They have little chance of escaping because the mucus they rely on for movement and grip becomes ineffective and begins to break down once they’re submerged in the beer.“

After just reading the headline, I envisioned my own solution to implement this tip. Janet suggested that it might have worked as she only saw one slug in the garden….

Admittedly just reading the captions before attempting a “home hack” is not a good habit. For example, this one – “The Surprising Reason To Put Flour in Your Kitchen Sink.”

If I had read further, I would have found, “…We love this hack because it makes a stainless steel sink sparkle in seconds for just pennies. The secret ingredient is all-purpose flour.” (emphasis added). That makes a lot more sense than: (#8)

Now pardon the repetition, but the one tip for seniors I highlighted in an August 2025 blog post that the physical therapist who was advising me on balance issues, suggested.

He advised on the benefit of a bar in the shower that could definitely help prevent falls. This seemed a little counterintuitive, however, but perhaps only if one includes hard liquor. (#9)

And since I may be wearing out this theme, I’ll leave you with my favorite example. Those of you who have ever tried to hang a painting or photo will understand my interpretation of this advice from Home Outlook – “Your Utensil Drawer Holds the Secret to Perfectly Hung Pictures.”

It seemed pretty easy, “Once you decide where you want to hang your picture frame and hammer the nail in place, reach inside your utensil drawer and grab a fork.” Perhaps the implementation left something to be desired! (#10)

Cheers!

External Photo Attribution

#1. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (Arlington House – Arlington National Cemetery – Wikimedia Commons) I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. Source: Protoant 11/6/05.

#2- #3 Jason Garver Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jason.garver.94)

#4. Wikimedia Commons (Pastor aleman a – German Shepherd Dog – Wikimedia Commons). Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Erick Drumss Hernández – 2 June 2016.

#5. Wikimedia Commons (File:Landline Telephone Set.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Author: Janak_Bhatta – 4 December 2025.

#6 -#7 AI Image Generator.

#8. Flower in Kitchen Sink Photo – Google Gemini

#9. AI Microsoft Image Generator.

#10. DaVinci – AI Art Generator

Beerchaser Notable – Captain Don Wilburn-US Army Air Corps – Part I

Posted on June 29, 2025 by Thebeerchaser

Captain Don Wilburn

(External Photo Attribution at the end of the Post #1)

An Honor Long Overdue

As followers of Thebeerchaser blog are aware, besides conveying the merits (or otherwise) of bars and breweries throughout Oregon and the rest of the US, I periodically identify an individual or group, who may or may not have anything to do with bars or beers.

This feature is titled “Beerchaser Notable,” and the narrative features the stories of these “honorees”, who in my humble opinion, have made a contribution to society and have led fascinating lives. They include academicians, athletes, clerics, media personalities and, of course, lawyers – even my graduate school professor of public finance and my retirement oboe instructor. I’ve known the great majority personally.

And there are a few distinguished military veterans who are combat heroes – more specifically, my SAE fraternity brother Jud Blakely USMC; Doug Bomarito, USN and Steve Lawrence US Army for their service in Viet Nam.

All three were awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V and Blakely and Bomarito received the Purple Heart after being wounded in action. Lawrence also received a Silver Star for action in combat. (#2 – #7)

Who was Captain Don Wilburn?

But this post is to honor a World War II hero – the late Captain Don Wilburn.

The Distinguished Flying Cross:

“Is awarded to any officer or enlisted person of the armed forces of the United States for heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. The heroism or achievement must be entirely distinctive, involving operations that are not routine. The DFC is the fourth highest award for heroism and the highest award for extraordinary aerial achievement.”

Don Wilburn, as did my friends mentioned above, received his medal – the DFC – for heroic wartime action. It was for his remarkable achievement as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during World War II and the posthumous award was not received until eighty-three years later. (#8)

The Distinguished Flying Cross

Wilburn was a pilot on a B-17B Flying Fortress on a Top-Secret reconnaissance mission commenced in the spring of 1942. This mission was named Project (or Operation) Rusty. During the course of this mission, Don flew 40,000 miles in his plane named “The Blue Goose” – 18,000 of which were over enemy territory.

“It was an early—but pivotal—stealth reconnaissance effort that shaped the Allied North African campaign by mapping terrain and assessing enemy logistics, all under the cloak of secrecy, directly involving the President Roosevelt’s son, Elliot. who was a navigator on the plane.” (#9)

On the Blue Goose’s last mission while Don was piloting, engine damage resulting in a runaway prop caused the plane to drop from 25,000 to 8,000 ft in three minutes, 800 miles from base in Accra, Ghana.

His skill as a pilot getting the aircraft back to base saved the crew. An excerpt from the citation recommending the medal by Colonel Paul Cullen, the commanding officer and co-pilot of the B-17 is shown below.

August 5, 1942

SUBJECT: Award of Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumous)

TO: Commanding General, Army Air Forces, Washington, D. C.

It is recommended that Captain Donald E. Wilburn, Army serial number O38544, be awarded, posthumously, the Distinguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in the highly difficult and strategically important Rusty Project.

Captain Wilburn served as co-pilot of the B-17 airplane used on this mission and showed great skill in operating the aircraft for great distances. In addition, he aided the pilot in averting a fatal crash and bringing the badly damaged airplane safely back to its frontier base.

Note the date of the recommendation above which begs the question why it took so long – until 2025 – for the medal to be awarded. Don suffered fatal injuries shortly after he returned to the US in a June 1, 1942, solo plane crash after taking off on a routine military flight from Boling Field in Washington DC. (#10)

Brother Gene, with Don’s award

You will learn more about the fascinating story of Operation Rusty in this and my next post, but suffice to say, the story encompasses tragedy, perseverance, intrigue, heroism and brotherly love. This mission was a fascinating part of the North African strategy during the War. It was never widely publicized and the recommendation setting forth Don’s performance lay dormant for decades.

There are also additional details on the heroic action Don took while piloting the B17 to land it safely and save his crew – including President Roosevelt’s son, Elliot, the navigator. I also want to share what a wonderful young officer and gentleman Don was during his short life and the connection with my family – a bond that as a result of Thebeerchaser blog, was renewed three years ago. (#11)

A College Friendship

Another Beerchaser Notable was my dad, F. Duane Williams (affectionally known in his later years as “FDW” by our family as related in the 2021 post https://thebeerchaser.com/2021/11/09/fdw-beerchaser-of-the-quarter-part-ii/.

FDW and my mom, Frannie, were happily married for many years after they met in New York City and married in 1943. They were wonderful parents to their four kids.

Dad and Don Wilburn both attended George Washington University in DC in the late 1930’s and met after they joined the SAE Fraternity. Their friendship strengthened and the bond continued after Don joined the Army Air Corps and FDW went to work for American Airlines in New York City. Don met his beautiful future wife, Jeannette while he was in college. (#12 – #13)

Namesake

You’ll have to wait until the next post for more details, but flash forward to 1967 at Oregon State University when Dad was there for the SAE initiation of his first son Donald Wilburn Williams (that’s me!). My youngest brother, Rick, became a member several years later.

Yes, I was named after my Dad’s best friend and have always been proud of that fact.

I still remember my excited call to Dad in the summer of 1968, when I taught at the SAE Leadership School held at the Levere Memorial Temple just off the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon Foundation owns this impressive gothic style building – built in 1929-1930 to serve as a war memorial and administrative facility. I was wandering through the museum in the building and saw the picture of Don in his uniform and a brief bio about his military service. (#14 – #15)

Although I knew about their friendship, I didn’t know many of the details about Don Wilburn’s service until the connection with Sue Froelich in late 2022.

I received this comment after I did the post on Thebeerchaser about FDW including his friendship with Don.

“Hi Don. You don’t know me but….my mom, Jeannette Stehman (Wilburn) Froehlich, was a friend of your dad’s in 1941. In fact, they dated some! She married your namesake Don Wilburn in the months before he was killed. (FDW was instrumental in the wedding.) It would be great to be in touch with you, given Duane’s close friendship with Don.” (#16)

Sue – served in the engineering department at Smith College in Massachusetts

Sue Froehlich graduated in mechanical engineering from UMass-Amherst. Her career in engineering and education culminated with her tenure as a lab supervisor in the Picker Engineering Program at Smith College – notably, the first all-women’s engineering program in the country. She retired in 2024.

She has worked tirelessly with Gene Wilburn (eleven years younger than brother, Don) and two of his friends, Jason and Laura McGinness Garver, to get Don the recognition he deserved – a project that came to fruition in 2025 culminating with the DFC award.

The Power of Social Media

My blog has been a wonderful retirement hobby. I, like many, have reservations about the pervasiveness of social media in our society. That said, I’ve gained friendships throughout the globe and reconnections with colleagues in the fourteen years since I commenced what has become an avocation.

And the comment on August 1, 2022, by Sue was a highlight. Of course, I contacted her after receiving this observation and we’ve had multiple phone calls and texts exchanged.

Sue and I will meet in person in late July when she is in Portland after rafting Oregon’s Rogue River. We, of course, will tell tales while Beerchasing.

She sent a wonderful Google file with her mom’s extensive collection of photos, letters and other details about Don Wilburn and my dad. (And yes, Jeannette and FDW did date at one time!)

It’s helped me learn the complete story of Don as a person and military hero and obtain much of the information and photos you’ve seen on this post and the next. (#17)

A Closing Note

I had to laugh when reflecting on this post about the nicknames I’ve had during my life. These have ranged from “Feet“ – actually a compliment initiated by my high school basketball teammates to “Waisted Willie, – not a compliment and bestowed by my high school calculus teacher, to “Dirt” – originated at the SAE house in college and one that has stuck through the years as you can see by the logo for Thebeerchaser. (Created by the aforementioned Jud Blakely.)

But the moniker I liked the most was first uttered by some of my classmates during my senior year at Oregon City High School. They discovered that my middle name was “Wilburn” and wondered about the origin. When I told them, my friends then greeted me with “Hi Wilburn,” and this prevailed, to my great satisfaction, until graduation.

Cheers

External Photo Attribution

#1. Photo collection of Mrs. Jeanette Wilburn.

#2- #7 Courtesy of Jud Blakely, Doug Bomarito and Steve Lawrence.

#8. Public Domain – Wikimedia Commons (File:Dfc-usa.jpg – Wikimedia Commons) The graphic is a representation of an award or decoration of the United States military. It is in the public domainbecause it contains materials that originally came from a U.S. military award. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.

#9. Photo collection of Mrs. Jeanette Wilburn.

#10. Sue Froelich Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=122107407968856600&set=a.122098683860856600).

#11. Wikietree.com (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Operation_Rusty).

#12 – #13. Photo collection of Mrs. Jeanette Wilburn.

# 14. Wikiepedia (File:NU Levere Memorial Temple.JPG – Wikimedia Commons) Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International, 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license. Author: Paradoxsociety – 23 April 2008.

#15. EnjoyIllinois.com (https://www.enjoyillinois.com/explore/listing/levere-memorial-temple/).

#16. Sue Froelich Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=5653778274679527&set=a.119862131404530).

#17. Photo collection of Mrs. Jeanette Wilburn.