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<p>Don Harvel lived a life of amazing courage, compassion, and joy. His story began in Albuquerque, NM, where, as a young boy, he dreamed of flying—that dream came to fruition in spades—Don amassed more than 20,000 hours flying for the Air Force and Delta Airlines. He earned his wings. </p>
<p><em>Donald Davis “Don” Harvel</em> was born August 21, 1954, the second son of Dean Harvel and Doris Gilmore Harvel. His brothers are Charles, Scott, and Craig (in age order). At Valley High School he excelled at baseball, tennis, and swimming. Don left Albuquerque for West Point in the summer of 1972. On a humid day at Trophy Point, he raised his right hand and solemnly swore to defend our Constitution. His four-year march at West Point had begun. </p>
<p>Years of swimming at Valley High School paid off: the Water Polo Team needed strong swimmers like Don. Teammate and close friend Kim Campbell recounts: “Don loved water polo. He was a teammate extraordinaire, always upbeat. I can still see his smiling, enthusiastic face saying, ‘Let’s get back in the water and work on…’ It was the combination of Don’s unassuming leadership, pushing all of us to a new level, together with his secret weapon—one of the best back-handed shots in the country—that made it happen: we qualified for and played in the NCAAs.”</p>
<p>Don’s upbeat attitude carried over into daily cadet life; the twin pressures of academics and military discipline didn’t faze him. Years later he confided in a group of classmates at an F-4 mini-reunion that he did not feel prepared by his high school academics for West Point’s rigorous education. His classmates were blown away by this revelation, as he never showed it. He always displayed a calm, confident, easy going demeanor. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” seemed to always be blaring from his room. In warm months he liked tanning on the barracks’ rooftop—by the time summer break rolled around, he and his roommate, Charlie, looked like bronze gods. </p>
<p>Don did have one memorable mishap: when returning from a weekend he got a speeding ticket with a whopping fine. He needed cash and sold his prized Seiko diving watch to Kap. Kap wore the watch through Ranger School and for many years afterward. It eventually conked out, but Kap still keeps the watch in his cadet lock box in remembrance of Don.</p>
<p>Upon graduation, Don commissioned in the Air Force and reported to pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, AZ. He breezed through flight school. His first flying assignment was the C-130 aircraft at Dyess Air Force Base, TX. Companymate Guy Minton, an Army Ranger, twice flew aboard and jumped from Don’s C-130. Guy recalls this amusing incident: “On one occasion Don had me up in the cockpit while flying to the DZ and took great pride in scaring me by activating an emergency horn for the crew’s pleasure.” Don moved on to become a C-130 instructor pilot with Air Force Special Operations at Kirkland Air Force Base, NM. His stellar leadership led to distinguished assignments: commander of the 181st Airlift Squadron, commander of the 136th Operations Group, commander of the 136th Airlift Wing, and deputy commander of the Texas Air National Guard. Deployments included Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom. During Don’s 23-year career with Delta, he flew the Boeing 727, 737, 757, 767, 777, and the MD-88.</p>
<p>A paramount event of Don’s 34-year Air Force career involved the tragic crash of a CV-22 Osprey in Afghanistan on April 9, 2010. Don, then a Delta pilot but also a brigadier general in the Air National Guard, was appointed president of the convened Accident Investigation Board. It was clear from the outset that the Air Force brass desired an investigation finding of pilot error. For Don, the accident investigation process left no room or tolerance for politics and innuendo. He presented the facts as he found them: engine power loss—not pilot error. The command was displeased. It ended his career. But he told the truth. </p>
<p>The Osprey pilot, Major Randell Voas, was killed in the crash. Don authored Rotors in the Sand so that Major Voas’s wife and children could learn the truth: Major Voas was a hero. His quick thinking saved the lives of 16 Army Rangers and crew. All service academies should adopt Rotors in the Sand as a text in their leadership classrooms. It’s a vital source for future officers to learn about courage, honor, and grit.</p>
<p>The most fortuitous day of Don’s life was in 1993 when he was captain of a Delta flight departing Atlanta. Through amazing serendipity, he met Nan Lund, a passenger on the flight. They were perfect for each other and soon married. A year later they welcomed daughter Randee to the family. Randee was a “daddy’s girl.” She and Dad did everything together: splashed in the pool, went on walks, and rode in golf carts (he let her drive). She frequently flew aboard his plane; she liked telling other passengers: “That’s my daddy making the announcements.” </p>
<p>Our loving husband and father, our cherished classmate, our country’s Air Force officer who served with unbending integrity, our kind-hearted friend always willing to help others, our beloved Don Harvel died of cardiac arrest on September 5, 2020. May his spirit of courage, compassion, and joy continue to live on in all of us.</p>
<p>Well Done, Don; Be Thou at Peace.</p>
<p><em>— Family and classmates</em></p>
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