Donald Devon Light

A local Vietnam veteran’s memory was honored recently at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund In Memory Observance held at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC over Father’s Day weekend.

Donald Devon Light was one of 768 Vietnam veterans who returned from their tour of duty and later passed away and had their memory honored this year as a part of the 2026 In Memory class. Light was born in Huttonsville in June 1942 and enlisted in the United States Army in 1959.

He served at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Fort Huachuca, Arizona and did two tours in Vietnam with the 1st Signal Brigade, serving there from 1969 to 1971 and received a Bronze Star medal as well as the Signal Corps of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces badge.

After his service in Vietnam, Light would eventually leave the Army in 1974 and pass away from cancers of the neck and head in March 1991 at 48 years old, one month after the Agent Orange Act of 1991 was passed by Congress that established presumptive conditions veterans could have from service in Vietnam. Light’s cancers would not be service connected until the passage of the PACT ACT in 2022. Donald Devon Light is buried at American Legion Little Arlington Cemetery in Cravensdale.

From their website the VVMF, “The In Memory program honors those who returned home from Vietnam and later suffered from causes related to their service including Agent Orange exposure and PTSD/suicide. The annual In Memory ceremony draws family, friends, and loved ones to The Wall to induct their honorees. The plaque that honors these veterans was dedicated on the site in 2004.”

The program started in 1993 and was taken over by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fun in 1999. Since then, over 7,600 veterans have been added to the honor roll. This program is also at no cost to the veteran’s family. To register for the 2027 class, one can go online to https://www.vvmf.org/inmemory-apply/ and apply. Deadline is March 29, 2027.