Each Memorial Day I pay my respects to the life of William Van Stone Jr., a Navy pilot during the Vietnam era who was flying an A6 intruder on a training flight when the aircraft developed mechanical problems. Bill detected the problem and ordered his co-pilot to bail out as they only had seconds to act. He held the aircraft in control long enough for the co-pilot to eject safely, but died when the plane crashed seconds later. That should tell you everything you need to know about his character.

Bill was my best friend growing up. We knew each other from the time we were small children in the early 1950s. We did many things together as kids will do, learning to ride bikes, play baseball, collect baseball cards, camping, up through high school where we went skiing together and double-dated. He was always at the top of whatever activity: high school class president, lacrosse team captain, and then Navy Scholarship holder going to Princeton, where he graduated in 1968. I also graduated that year. After college we went into our respective services, me to Army ordnance, Bill to naval aviation. We both bought MG sports cars, but mine was used while his was new and very well equipped. I was stationed in Korea and he learned to fly jets. While in Korea in 1970 I received notice that he had been killed. I have stayed in touch with his family all these years, and each Memorial Day I post an entry commemorating his service, but I still grieve both his physical loss and the loss of the chance to grow old together, sharing family stories, careers and just life experiences.