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DONALD RAY KIRKLIGHTER was born at
Hollywood Clara Barton Memorial Hospital
and grew up in Hollywood, CA. In his youth,
he was full of life and shared his quick wit with
those who knew him best. Hollywood is very
colorful and full of history and, of course, has
always been home to members of the entertainment
industry and their families. Donald
grew up with people who would someday reshape
society. Some of them became household
names while others worked behind the
scenes to accomplish their goals.
In 1948, Donald graduated from John
Marshall High School at age 17. During
high school, he played football and ran track,
earning a varsity letter in each. During his junior
year he represented his high school and
American Legion Post 526 at the Boys’ State
civics debate competition in Sacramento.
He was chosen because of his well-developed
leadership skills and powerful public speaking
presence. From 1948 to 1950, he attended the
college division of the New Mexico Military
Institute and majored in engineering. While
there, his application to West Point was submitted.
After returning from the institute, he briefly attended Occidental College and studied
philosophy. Donald received his official appointment
to West Point from Congressman
Norris R. Poulson and reported to West Point
on 5 Jul 1950.
Donald’s first year at West Point would
prove to be quite challenging. Before his first
visit home in 1951, Donald lost his father to
a massive heart attack. True to form, he took
the tragedy in stride and pressed on to complete
what he had started. While attending
West Point, Donald attained the qualification
“marksman” with the M-1 rifle and the
carbine. He qualified as an “expert” with the
.45-caliber pistol and the .38 revolver. He also
enjoyed sports, was active in gymnastics and
football, and had a reputation for being very
personable and a friend to all who knew him.
Unfortunately, he sustained a serious knee
injury while playing football as a cadet. The
injury left Donald with permanent physical
limitations, changing his future military career
goals and aspirations. Overall, however, his
experience at West Point was good, filled with
many unique opportunities and memories that
live on today through the eyes of his family.
After graduation, Donald went to Ft.
Lewis, WA, to train for the Counter Intelligence
Corps as an intelligence research officer. After
this training, Donald served as a top secret control
officer and a section chief for background
investigations. He also worked in special projects
investigations, gave security lectures, and
served as an operations officer for a unit responsible
for intelligence information collected
in the southern third of the Republic of Korea.
His duties also included foreign intelligence
and law enforcement liaison work.
In the fall of 1958, Donald had just
returned from a tour in Korea and was
newly assigned to the Counter Intelligence
Detachment in Pasadena, CA, when he met
Patricia Schenck. She was working for the
Army Ordnance District located next door to
his office building. They first saw each other
in a cafeteria shared by the staff of both buildings.
They dated until the following summer
and were married in August 1959. A short
time later, Donald received orders to return to
the Infantry at Ft. Benning, GA.
After a great deal of thought and soul
searching, Donald decided to leave the service
because of the knee injury he had sustained at
West Point. His physical abilities were limited,
and he was disenchanted with the Counter
Intelligence Corps. In 1959, he resigned his
commission and began law school at the
University of California, Los Angeles.
In 1961, Donald became a licensed broker
and went to work for McDonnell &
Company, a brokerage house in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the market took a major down
turn, and in 1963 he was looking for a new
career. Falling back on his engineering background,
Donald accepted a position with
North American Aviation, Inc., as a reliability
engineer on the Minuteman Weapon System.
He remained at North American several years
until the contracted program began to wind
down in the late 1960s. Fearing he would be
caught in company downsizing, he switched
to a career in sales, accepting a position with SmithKline and French Pharmaceuticals as a
field representative.
In December 1969, Donald’s wife Patricia
gave birth to a baby girl, Tracey Lynn, who
would be their only child. In the years that
followed, Donald became very depressed after
many unforeseen and uncontrollable setbacks,
both personal and professional. On 22 Jul
1973, he decided to make his final journey
home. Donald was an incredible man with
great insight and a loving heart. He is and
will always be greatly missed, but his spirit of
adventure and loyal heart remain in the souls
of his friends and family that will never forget
him. Donald is survived by his wife Patricia;
daughter, Tracey; son-in-law, David; and
his two grandchildren, Christina Marie and
David Ray Verduzco.
This article is dedicated to my father, whose
zest for life and free spirit thrives within me. To
his friends: thank you for sharing and keeping
his memory alive through laughter and fond
recollections.
I love you, Dad.
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