An organization perpetuating the life of CW2 Don Viray, U.S. We tell his stories to honor his memory while also helping those grieving the death of a loved one.
Army Blackhawk (UH-60) chase pilot, killed-in-action in Devalak, Afghanistan within the Helmand Province, on Thursday night April 19th, 2012 while in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). This page was created to perpetuate the legacy of CW2 Don Viray who was KIA during a night mission in OEF (Afghanistan) en route to rescue wounded allies. A labor of love.
04/19/2025
We remember the "Dragon," 13 years without him today. He shows up around us, if you look hard enough. On this anniversary may it serve as a reminder that love doesn't die, it just changes form. And it lives on in each of us as long as we never forget.
On Halloween, we commemorate our dead whose memory live on. Today, as we begin the next few days of remembrance, please keep Don in mind and perhaps visit him, if you can. He was truly a proud Army pilot.
07/16/2024
Even though time has stopped, we are still counting and remembering. Today, July 15, 2024, would've been Don's 38th birthday. In the wee hours of the morning 38th years ago, this newborn photo was taken at the Tripler Army Medical Center on O'ahu, Hawai'i, USA. We had hoped for a long life but still cherish the one he lived.
On a side note, the next set of "Remember the Dragon" candles will be sent out in the next few weeks.
04/21/2024
Our sincerest "thank you" to all those who sent us private and public messages in honor of the 12th anniversary of Don's passing. We always appreciate the messages and photos that you share with us, but especially during these milestones that we sadly must live through. Don's immediate family, his dad (Leo), mom (Luz), sister (Sherry), and dog (Roxy) commemorated this anniversary in different ways from thousands of miles apart. We ate steaks and drank beer to remember Don on the night he passed; the weekend previous we were invited to the Mariner's Armed Forces Night game in honor of our fallen hero; and on the day of we went to the National Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl and Wheeler Army Airfield to visit his grave and memorials.
The 12th-anniversary candles will be sent out this coming week. We appreciate knowing there's a lot of interest in receiving these candles and we will send one to every person who requests it (see previous post for more information). We'd like to have many of these candles burning bright in different homes across (mostly) the United States to remember and honor the life of Don Viray.
04/19/2024
For the 12th Year Anniversary of Don's passing, we are sending out bespoke memorial candles in his honor in these two designs. These candles are made with natural soy wax, pure cotton wick, and a burn time of up to 60 hours. We hope you can light these candles in Don's memory. These were specifically scented in oceanic notes and sandalwood musk, which are two of his favorite smells. Please be on the lookout for yours in the mail. If we don't have your address and want to receive periodic items as we create them in Don's memory, please send us (through a private message) your address: USA, Canada, and APO/AP/AE addresses only. Our goal for this memorial is to keep him alive in little ways, just like this way.
04/19/2024
Roxy, whom Don adopted from the Humane Society nearly 15 years ago today, is nearly "sweet 16," - a healthy centenarian! She has only lived with Don for just less than two years of her entire life as he was always training or deployed. Despite this, it was Don who gave her, her forever family. She has lived most of her life with Don's sister in Washington state where she currently resides. Through the years Roxy has traveled extensively to a dozen states and two countries, she has books made about her, and posts pup-dates about her life on Instagram. Needless to say, Roxy is living a good life in a loving and beautiful environment. She is the last living thing that Don left for his family. And we are grateful for her. Today she celebrates him with steak and cheese.
04/19/2024
12 Years Later and We Still Haven't Forgotten (2024).
If you have any photos or videos of him, please share them with us. We appreciate your continued support and for remembering Don. He remains alive in our hearts.
07/16/2023
(July 15, 2023) You are loved. You are missed. You are remembered.
Since the 10 year de@th anniversary post didn't include any photos of him, here's a photo-video of our faded star during his short life.
04/19/2022
10 years later we still remember as if it was today. Much has changed but the pain often stays the same. Time doesn't heal all, rather it just makes things more tolerable. For various reasons, we don't update here often, so please follow his memorial IG or TT accounts instead [], otherwise, subscribe to the blog on the memorial website [www.RememberTheDragon.org]. There were several dozen mailers sent out to Don's supporters and should've already arrived to most, if not all, the destinations in time for today's anniversary. Thank you sincerely for continuing to remember him ... until eternity 💔
It's been a long time since we've posted on this page. However, it's worth addressing that with the last solider stepping off of Afghanistan, the end of Operation Enduring Freedom has finally come. We all knew this war needed to come to an end and that it would be a messy transition. That said, we saw in the last few weeks just how messy it could get. No words can truly give value to the pain of the outcome because of what we gave up just to get here. But with a solid support system to include those who've reached out made the past few weeks as we ended this war more bearable. There's nothing left to say except to express our gratitude to those who continue to support Don's memory and us in these heartfelt times.
We also want to mention that post on this Facebook memorial page will be extremely limited going forward. For many reasons, we prefer to continue Don's online memorial via his revamped website as blog post. Please view stories about him and what we're doing to perpetuate his life at this website:
www.RememberTheDragon.org
We've kept this online memorial here primarily because in certain countries Facebook is the only way users have internet access since in those countries it can be used for free even without an ISP. So for those whose only access online is via Facebook, know that we do check messages here frequently and will keep this page up even though we will no longer consistently post stories to it.
Don't forget to check out our newly launched fundraiser:
rdbl.co/3mSWwkU
– This link should default to the design page.
– Click on a design you like and see all available products.
05/25/2020
On Memorial day we honor the sacrifices of our fallen heroes. But please also keep in mind the family and friends they left behind as they carry the pain of loss for the rest of their lives. On this day specifically, let us all reflect and appreciate how blessed we are because of these brave few.