I love to laugh. I love people who make me laugh. It is sad that I never got to meet Commander William Howard Donovan, Jr. Many described him as having a great sense of humor. Others described him as the kind of guy who was an optimist. The kind of guy who when given lemons, he made lemonade. He was a family man with strong family values, an excellent work ethic and strong morals who was dedicated to all things in his life, especially his family and his country.
On that day five years ago, the day that looked so beautiful with clear blue skies and sunshine, Cmdr. Donovan was taken from all those that loved him. Many of us were witness to it, as we watched or listened to the plane hitting the Pentagon on the television or radio. I, myself, was driving my children to school and was listening to the radio where they were interviewing someone on the radio who was at the Pentagon. There was a loud explosion. It was that moment that at least began the end of Cmdr. Donovan’s life. It is incredible to me to think of it in that way.
Commander William Howard Donovan Junior, “Bill” or “Billy” to his friends, was 37 years old. He was a husband and father of three from Nunda, New York. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1986. In the first Gulf war, he was a naval aviator and after that he served as a tactical officer on the U.S.S. George Washington for two years in the mid 1990s. He was a pilot instructor and received a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Post Graduate school in California. He received many awards, among them the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation and Achievement Medals.
He was passionate about soccer and even played on a Pentagon lunchtime league. This was a passion that he passed on to his children. He must have been one hell of a Dad, because some of the most heart wrenching things that I have read about him, are messages left on various message boards by his daughter, Kelsey and her friends. There were messages left as late as February of this year, an attestment to the impression that he left on his daughter in her young life. From what I have read and seen, it seems he had that effect on many people, those whom he touched directly–his family and friends, and those whom he touched indirectly–people who knew his family and friends, those who have read about him, and me.
*The information for this tribute was gained from the following resources:
- Terrorist Attack Memorial: We Shall Never Forget
New York Times Legacy Guestbook
September 11, 2001 Victims
The New York Times: Portraits of Grief
CNN.com, September 11, A Memorial
Shipmate: USNA Memorial
To see other tributes, check out 2,996 and 2,996 Tribute.
This post will stay up here on top until Tuesday.
Thanks for your addition. The project is a wonderful way to honor all of those vicitms and their families!
Today I honor Vincent D. Kane.
A beautiful tribute. It is such an honor to participate in this project.
Today I paid tribute to Edward T. Keane.
That was a beautiful tribute.
Thank you for your tribute and your participation in this project.
Very nice tribute, it is wonderful that you participated in this project.
wow, a really beautiful tribute, Shelli, really moving!
beautiful tribute Shell…..very moving,
Well done!
Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
thank you!
great tribute
Mine was Samantha Lightbourn who was also at the pentagon please feel free to visit
annie
You did a remarkable tribute to a truly remarkable man.
Wonderful Tribute!
Thank you.
These are sad and hard to read….
I am honored to be a part of this project.
Mine is posted also…
The 2996 link is down. I have a new link on my site to view the participants.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort,
but where he stands at times of challenge
and controversy. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.
Bless you…
This was a moving tribute in a wonderful project. The Pentagon was only miles from my house and those memories are still fresh.
~Shelly
Tribute to Cora Holland
Lovely tribute.
Well done, love. xo
Thank you for helping me to learn who he was and remember him on this anniversary. You did a great job with his tribute. I’m already all welled-up with tears but just reading about his daughter made my cup runneth over…
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wonderful tribute…I am so thankful that I read your post…I think its a wonderful thing, this 2996 blogger tribute…I did read his guest book….how sad…but you did a great job…take care
Kirsten
I honored Vincent Cangelosi
thank you for a wonderful tribute. you help us all to never forget these people.
i am proudly remembering Shawn Edward Bowman at the-looney-bin.blogspot.com
Erin
Very nice…. thank you for doing this.
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That was beautiful Shelli. You did an amazing job. That really touched my heart.
Thank you for this wonderful tribute.
It looks like the 2996 main site is down under the load, so I’m trying to provide a backup unless someone else steps up. I grabbed the list of participants out of the Google Cache and re-hosted it using Amazon Web Services:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/static.windypundit.com/cache/2996-List.html
Amazon uses it for their own site, so it should easily take a billion hits or so.
Tell Everyone!
Beautiful Tribute. The original site is down so I have reposted the original list here so that people can continue to read and tribute.
2996project.blogspot.com
What a beautiful tribute, Thank you for sharing this with us.
Hi great job with remembering Sept.11 I love to be kind and think about this every year
Thank you for sharing this lovely tribute, and for reading the one I wrote for Yvonne Kennedy
A very touching tribute. Thank you for sharing.
I am paying tribute to Joao Alberto da Fonseca Aguiar Jr. at my blog: http://www.kateskafe.blogspot.com
For me it is another blog that leaves me choked.
Well done, and the same for all the others that have chosen someone to honour.
Ake Ake Kia Kaha
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Thank you for your beautiful tribute.
What a lovely tribute! Thank you for participating. The people are no longer just a name to us anymore.
Mine’s up.
It’s so heartbreaking to go from blog to blog… Thank you.
Tribute to Christopher Paul Slattery
Thank you for remembering.
I have remembered Laura Lee Morabito
What a wonderful tribute
Faina’s Tribute
Very nice tribute.. brought me to tears..
Thank you for that wonderful read today..
Thank you, your tribute was beautiful.
Five years have come, and five years have gone, and still we stand together as one…
I did not know any victims, but I learned a lot about my asigned person. His tribute is on my blog.
9/11 is what compelled me to re-join the military and do my part.
Beautiful tribute … I have purposefully not followed the news today, but have been reading the many memorials across the blogosphere.
That was beautiful! Thank you for sharing. My tribute for William T. Dean is posted at http://justonecrazylady.blogspot.com/
A day of remembrance in case we should all too soon forget those who lost a loved one on this day……..a very sad day for us all.
That every name, every face, every soul, every heartbeat should be made one. In the face of the tragedy we all lived through, it is the only prayer I have. Your tribute brings one more name, one more face, one more soul, one more heartbeat into the circle, and we keep living, not inspite of 9/11, but because of those who gave all.
Thank you for your piece of the puzzle.
Cindi
I proudly honored Jay Robert Magazine and Mark Bingham on my blog.
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Moving tribute. So hard to keep reading these.
I linked your tribute at 2996 tribute to victims of 9/11 – Terrence E Adderley
The world is a better place because Cmdr. Donovan lived. Because he touched lives and left love behind, his legacy will live on.
Thanks for introducing us to the commander in this warm tribute.
And me….
Very well done, Shelli. It seems you were able to find quite a bit of information on this man. Thanks for sharing him with us, and letting us know a little more about him.
Honored to be part of the project with you. Very beautiful tribute!