Memorial

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Maj Donald A. Larson attended college and was employed at the Yakima Morning Herald as a police reporter-photographer.

He volunteered for the Army of the United States in Tacoma, Washington on 17 September 1942.

Maj Larson was awarded the Silver Star Medal for shooting down 2 Me-109s and 1 FW-190 and damaging another FW-190 on the same mission on 24 May 1944.

2nd Lt Lawrence J. Powell Jr, who flew the same mission, gave the following statement: "On the 4 August 1944, while on a operational mission with Major D.A. Larson, and Lt. R.F. Burns, Major Larson had just shot down FW 190 and I went over to be with him because he was all alone. I was going to fly his wing when several other planes cut me out of position, so I just tagging along with the bunch. Then Maj Larson called in two locomotives at 1000 o’clock. We went down, and I was the last man. I saw Maj Larson pull up off the locomotives and make a sharp left turn. I was just going down to make my pass when I looked behind to see that no one was on my tail. I saw two planes collide, one with its tail completely sheared off at the air scoop. It exploded and flipped over and over and into the ground on fire. This took place about 400. The other plane pulled up smoking and almost out of control to about 1000 and the pilot bailed out the chute opened, and the pilot landed in the woods near the other burning plane. I took this pilot to be Maj Larson because I saw the other plane fly into the lead plane. Both planes were in a left bank as if chasing something. All this action took place northwest of Ulzen."