Brigadier General Donald Dalton

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Brigadier General Dalton, deceased, of Mayflower served 42 years in the Air Force and Arkansas Air National Guard. He was Commander of the Arkansas Air National Guard 1991-1999 and earned the Legion of Merit. Command Pilot with over 2,000 flying hours. President of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association. Chairman Selection Committee Arkansas Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame 2011-2015.

Brigadier General Donald Dalton, USAF, Retired, of Mayflower Arkansas was born in St. Louis Missouri on April 10, 1939. General Dalton graduated from Little Rock Central High School in 1957. He graduated from the University of Arkansas Little Rock with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and from Harvard Business School, with a Masters in Management Development. His military education included Squadron Officer School, National Defense University, and Air War College. General Dalton enlisted as an Airman in the Arkansas Air Nation Guard in 1957. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in 1961. He completed Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laredo AFB, Texas in 1962. He was assigned as a reconnaissance pilot, 154th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Little Rock, flying RB-57 aircraft. During the call-up for the Pueblo Crisis in 1968, General Dalton was named Air Operations Officer. He remained in tactical flying until the group converted to KC-135 aircraft in 1975 and he became a tanker pilot and Operations Staff Officer. In 1978 he became an Information Staff Officer for Headquarters, Arkansas Air National Guard (ANG). He was selected as Deputy Commander, Arkansas Air National Guard in December 1988, flying as an Operational Evaluator in the 189th Tactical Airlift Group C-130 aircraft. General Dalton was named Chief of Staff, Arkansas ANG in February 1990, commander, Arkansas ANG in June 1991, and federally recognized as a Brigadier General on April 8, 1992. General Dalton was a Command Pilot with over 2000 flying hours in the T-37, T-33, RB-57, RF-101, KC-135, and C-130 aircraft.

When not serving his country, General Dalton was Vice President and General Manager for Valmac in Russellville Arkansas. He also retired as president of U.S. Poultry and Egg Association and elected as Chairman in 1978. In 2010 he was honored by the American Poultry Historical Society and inducted into the Poultry Hall of Fame. In 2012-2013 he served as President of the Conway Noon Lions Club and was dedicated to honoring his country through their Patriot Project which is their Flag holiday observance program. In February 2015 the Lions Club renamed the project, “The Don Dalton Patriot Project.” He served on the Arkansas Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame as Chairman of the Selection Committee from September 2011 to January 2015 and developed the standards for selecting the honorees for the hall of Fame.

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The Arkansas Military Veterans’ Hall of Fame, Inc. (AMVHOF) is a non-profit organization [501(c)(3)] that is based and incorporated in Arkansas whose objective is to publicly emphasize the honor brought to our state and nation by the sacrifice of Arkansas Military Veterans and their families.