In Memoriam

On the morning CPT. Lechrone perished, I was crewing the F-16 parked next to his. His call sign was "Lumpy".

As he was doing his walk around I recall saying to him "Couldn't pick a better morning to deploy a Lumpy." He smiled and replied back "This is what makes the job exciting." That morning the unit was deploying to Denmark. Lumpy was the fourth to take-off in the first cell of aircraft at 04:00. The weather was foggy and as soon as the aircraft left the runway they were into the fog.

Just after the second cell of aircraft took off at 04:30 we were told to go into the hangar. Once there, CMS O'Malley said after a few minutes from take-off the tower lost communications with aircraft 943.

The Illinois State Police had already called in a aircraft crash and debris. Lumpy ejected from the aircraft and during the ejection a piece of the aircraft hit him in the head. We lost a great pilot and a friend that morning.

I was at the base where we were deploying to. We were breifed on what happened and asked to not say anything to the pilots, intill each "cell" was down. I was "catching" the Aircraft as they were coming in and one of the pilots asked if we knew what happened to "Lumpy", before I could say any thing the S.O.F. told the pilot that he would be breifed on the incident. Shortly after all the pilots were all down,

the DET Commander, had a mass breifing in one the hangers. We were told again what had happened and a Chaplin was there for us if needed.

"Lumpy" is missed from one of the "Boyz from Illnoiz"

The best guard days were when Lumpy would say, "hey, today's RUTA - lake", meaning a RUTA fly period in the morning, and the afternoon out waterskiing on Lake Springfield.

Those RUTA-Lake's will always be remembered, my friend.....

I was at Karup AB with the advon team setting up comm. for the TAC-EVAL. our commander, who was an F-4 back seater, and a hell of a good man, called everyone together. I'd been out working and had no idea what had happened. Our CO informed us that 'a plane had crashed and the pilot is gone' and he broke up and walked away. Just like that, the fun and games were over. RIP Capt. Donald "Lumpy" Leckrone.

Thirty years ago tomorrow the love of my life suddenly left the earth but his spirit is ever present. You were larger than this life could hold. So many great memories together. Your sayings still make me giggle. Miss you, love.

Don was my college roommate.. He drove a bright red Monte Carlo, far too fast. He was a Rolling Stones fan, and he had a great sense of humor. He had stories to tell about his life back in Springfield, life at Marmion Military Academy , his weekends with the Illinois Air Guard , flying in helicopters. When I heard of his passing, I was stunned. He was so full of life as a teenager transitioning into an adult. I think of him often.