NEWS RELEASE NEIL ABERCROMBIE GOVERNOR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 7, 2012

Flags to Fly at Half-Staff Thursday in Honor of Chief Warrant Officer Two Don C. Viray

HONOLULU – Governor Neil Abercrombie today ordered that all national and Hawai'i flags at all State offices and agencies as well as the Hawai'i National Guard are to be flown at half-staff on Thursday, May 10, 2012 in memory of Chief Warrant Officer Two Don C. Viray. Army helicopter pilot CW2 Viray was killed in a helicopter crash in the Helmand province of Afghanistan on April 19, 2012. He and three other Hawai'i-based servicemen died in the crash. CW2 Viray was assigned to A Company 2nd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawai'i. CW2 Viray, 25, grew up in Waipahu where he attended Waipahu High School, before graduating from Roosevelt High School. He was active in ROTC and was enlisted in the Hawai'i Army National Guard before joining the U.S. Army. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, May 10, 2012 at Borthwick Mortuary. CW2 Viray will be laid to rest at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl. “We honor Chief Officer Two Viray and all of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice as a result of their duty to the nation and fellow soldiers,” stated Governor Abercrombie. “My deepest sympathies go out to CW2 Viray’s family and friends.”

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For more information, contact: Donalyn Dela Cruz, Deputy Director of Communications, (808) 586-0012 http://hawaii.gov/gov