Tuesday, June 24, 2025
78 ° Clear
78 ° Clear
BUCKS COUNTY (June 10, 2025) –– William Herbert McDonnell, a United States Army Warrant Officer who played varsity football and basketball for Council Rock High School, will be honored on Tuesday, June 24 (11 AM) when the Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (PAVVMF) and the County of Bucks dedicate a Newtown Township bridge to his memory.
McDonnell, who had been a resident of Newtown, will be recognized for his heroism and sacrifice during ceremonies at Bucks County Bridge #39 on Wrights Road in Newtown Township. The dedication will include a flyover by a Bell UH-1H Iroquois “Huey” helicopter, a survivor of many combat missions in Vietnam and now owned by Liberty Warbirds Association. The entire ceremony will be carried on the PAVVMF’s live feed at www.facebook.com/LBCVVM.
The son of William J. and Edith McDonnell, McDonell enlisted in the Army in 1967 while still a student at Council Rock. He graduated from helicopter pilot schools at Fort Walters, TX and Fort Rucker, AL, and in August 1968 was sent to Vietnam, where he was assigned to the 170th Assault Helicopter Company, 52nd Air Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade. His mother said that her son never complained and believed that he should be in Vietnam.
On the morning of January 24, 1969, McDonnell was the aircraft commander of a UH-1C Huey gunship providing air support for supply convoys. While patrolling the area, McDonnell located an enemy ambush site. He immediately made an offensive strike on the enemy position, forcing them to divert their attention from the ambush to defend against the gunship. Enemy fire penetrated vital parts of the helicopter, causing it to crash. McDonnell and the three members of his crew were all killed. McDonnell was posthumously awarded the Silver Star.
McDonnell was survived by his parents, two brothers, a sister and a fiancée. He is buried in Newtown Cemetery, Newtown, PA.
The Pennsylvania Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (PAVVMF) is working with Bucks County on the dedication of bridges in honor of Bucks County servicemen and women who died in the Vietnam War. The PAVVMF previously created and in 2021 dedicated the Lower Bucks County Vietnam Veterans Memorial (LBCVVM) to Lower Bucks victims of the Vietnam War; many of its members also were instrumental in bringing the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall to Bucks County in 2017. For more information visit lbcvvm.org.
