A 2004 Roosevelt High School graduate killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan will be buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on May 10, an official said.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Don C. Viray, 25, of Waipahu was one of four Schofield Barracks soldiers who died when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed in bad weather April 19 on a night flight in southern Afghanistan.
He joined the Hawaii Army National Guard at 17 and most recently was an active-duty Army helicopter pilot.
Visitation for Viray will be at 9 a.m. May 10 at Borthwick Mortuary, 1330 Maunakea St., the mortuary said. A service will be held at 10 a.m., and burial will be at 1 p.m. at Punchbowl.
The service for Viray is open to the public, Borthwick said.
Viray’s awards and decorations include the Air Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with campaign star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Air Assault Badge and the Aviator Badge. Posthumous awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, NATO Medal and the Combat Action Badge.
Also killed in the helicopter crash were Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nicholas S. Johnson, 27, of San Diego; Spc. Dean R. Shaffer, 23, of Pekin, Ill.; and Spc. Chris J. Workman, 33, of Boise, Idaho.
The soldiers were with A Company, 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, out of Wheeler Army Airfield.
The four deaths were the first for the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, whose 2,600 Hawaii soldiers deployed in January for a year in southern Afghanistan. The unit’s approximately 90 Black Hawk, Kiowa Warrior and Chinook helicopters also were shipped out.
