WILMINGTON, MA — Earlier this month, Wilmington resident Joyce Dalton and her sister Verlie Quinan, Gold Star sisters of Wilmington fallen hero Ronald Dow Eaton — KIA/MIA from the Korean War — had the honor of placing a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC.
According to the American Battle Monuments Commission:
“Ensign Eaton was the pilot of a F4U-4 Corsair fighter with Fighter Squadron 74 aboard the aircraft carrier USS BON HOMME RICHARD (CV-31). On June 25, 1952, he was attacking target in the Wonsan area of North Korea, when his aircraft was hit by flak at an altitude of 8,000 feet and he bailed out. He was successfully picked up by a H-5H helicopter piloted by Captain Leslie W. Lear from the 3rd Rescue Squadron, U.S. Air Force. Captain Lear’s aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed ten miles south of Chongsong-ni Korea, killing all three on board. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
Ensign Eaton was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.”
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