- By Betty McCreary -
A group of former Navy pilots and navigators living at LCG get together regularly for dinner and war stories. One of these veterans is Don Basset, a former Marine test pilot.
Don, living at Sea Breeze, started his life on a farm in Skidmore, Missouri. Every Saturday he went with his father on a mail route. His father built a box for Don to sit on and taught him to drive at the age of nine. They drove Model A Fords and Don learned how to take them apart and get them running. He bought three of these Fords for $30. None of them ran, but between the three, he got one whole car.
At 16, Don went to Northwest Missouri State Teachers College. The high point of college was when his brother taught him to fly. After two years, Don and 25 fellow students went to Kansas City and signed up in the Naval Cadet Flying Program. They were called The Flying Bearcats.
After the program, Don was stationed at Coronado and North Island in San Diego, where he test flew for the Marines. During this time, he met his future wife, Betty, from Escondido.
Following his stay in North Island he was sent to Manus Island and Bougainville Island in the South Pacific, as well as Tsingtao, China.
He was discharged in 1946 and he and Betty got married in June. They have two sons and five grandchildren. They have traveled the world.