Donald W. "Bill" King
War Wagon 16/15
LZ King 6
Donald William King (Bill), of Powder
Springs GA passed away on Tuesday, January 8, 2019, at the
age of 73.
His family will miss his quirky wit, his passion for jokes
and the love of gathering close friends together.
Bill is survived by his loving, devoted, and loyal wife,
Kim, of 19 years.
He leaves behind four children, Angela Rose (Dave) of Ft
Collins CO, Michaela Klose (Allen) of Dallas TX, Nicholas
King (Deanna) of Loveland CO and
John Sprankel (Tori) of Honolulu HI;
also surviving are two grandsons, Ryan Michael Cochran and
William James Klose, and one granddaughter, Rowan Ivey
Sprankel.
Bill served his country for four years in the Army. He was
an OH-6 (Loach) helicopter pilot in Vietnam while assigned
to Delta Troop, 3rd/5th Calvary.
His time in this war with these men, meant a great deal to
him.
Bill was an only child, so to him these Troopers were his
brothers.
He kept in touch with them over the years, and he hosted his
troop reunions at his home in GA for 22 years.
Following the war, he continued to serve his country in the
Civil Service, and retired as a Military Disaster Planner at
Ft McPherson after 31 years, which is where he met Kim.
After retirement, he and Kim were inseparable and traveled
extensively with their friends, Lynn and Mark Reade, who
they always said were sister and brother by different
mothers.
A graveside service will take place on Friday, March 15,
2019 at Georgia National Cemetery at 2:00 PM
with Deacon Bruce Reed officiating.
It is requested that donations be made in Bill’s name to the
Disabled American Veterans at the following website: DAV.org
Reflections
1995 Downtown Atlanta
The first reunion organized by Bill
Left to right, back to front:
Bill King, Bob Harshberger (The Mad Russian), JD Bottroff,
Rick Waite, George Schmitz, Ed Gallagher Ray Murphy, Don
Callison
Wedding
Day 1999
Bill and Kim had their wedding at the Reunion they hosted at
their home in Norcross, GA.
It was the high point of the event!
War Wagon Honor Guard,
Left to right: Rick Waite, Don Callison, George Schmitz,
Ray Murphy
2002 Reunion
2002 Reunion Hosts their home in Norcross, GA
Bill Assembling the Troop
Preparing to read the memorial roster (2002)
2009 Reunion
Bill looks on as Steve Kirkland reads the memorial roster.
This was the first time Steve attended a reunion and he was
quite moved.
Callison presented Bill
with a custom restored flight helmet
2010 Reunion
Hosts Kim and Bill
2011 Reunion Hosts
Bill & Kim hosted the 2012 Reunion
Rained out at home, Kim and Bill moved the 2013
Reunion to the Holiday Inn, Powder Springs, GA
Addressing the Troop
2015
Honoring Bill and Kim at the first Daytona Beach
Reunion location in 2015 for their service to the Troop for so
many years.
2016
Daytona Beach
Left to Right: Bill, Kim's back, Shirley Kaler,
Barb & Norm Schreiber
2017
Daytona Beach Reunion
Honoring our former reunion Hosts
Bill at the last Troop gathering he was able to attend. 2017
Bill & Kim
"Slow Hand Salute Brother.."
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