Join Us In Honoring Those Who Gave All

May 26, 2017

Howdy, Ags!

On May 18 in Arlington National Cemetery, the four children of Col. William E. Campbell ’52 gathered to lay their father to rest with full military honors. With the bugler’s final notes of Taps, a long chapter in Col. Campbell’s story came to a close as his family was finally able to see him given this long overdue honor.

This chapter began January 29, 1969, when Col. Campbell took flight from Thailand on an F-4 combat mission that took him over Laos and into North Vietnam. His aircraft encountered enemy fire and crashed in Laos. No remains were located and he and his co-pilot were listed as Missing in Action for the next eight years until being declared Killed in Action in 1978. More than 10 years later in 1989, remains had still not been positively identified, but Col. Campbell’s Aggie Ring was located in a Thai jewelry store and returned to his wife. Boo Campbell had turned her husband’s Ring at Ring Dance in 1952 and faithfully wore his Aggie Ring until her death in 1995. Her children honored her wishes and returned the Ring to Texas A&M in 2002, where it remains on display at the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center. As they presented his Aggie Ring, the Campbell children expressed gratitude to The Association of Former Students for providing a symbolic resting place for their father.

In December of 2016—48 years after they last saw their father—the family received word that positive identification had been made and that their father’s remains would at long last be returned home. His flag-draped casket departed Honolulu on May 16—Campbell’s birthday—escorted by his grandson-in-law USAF Lt. Col. Brian Gilpatrick for burial in Arlington National Cemetery. There, Campbell’s remains and those of his wife were interred together and their children were able to begin a new chapter in their lives.

Aggies have long understood the significance and importance of Memorial Day where we remember the 1.3 million Americans – including more than 1,100 Aggies – who have died in service to our nation. Stories like those of Col. William Campbell ’52 remind us that Memorial Day is about more than numbers, it is about the people who served with honor and distinction and the families that miss them daily.

As you enjoy the Memorial Day holiday, please join with me, The Association Board of Directors and our staff in finding your own special way to honor those who have given all to our nation. In doing so, you uphold our core values of excellence, integrity, leadership, loyalty, respect and selfless service and ensure that the sacrifices made by these men and women and their families are remembered.

Respectfully,

Porter S. Garner III '79
President and CEO

We are grateful to the Campbell family for entrusting us to document their father’s return and share this short film, "Colonel Campbell's Final Flight," with the Aggie Network: