From the
Eugene Register-Guard from April 3, 1991:
Body of pilot pulled from Salvadoran lake
The body of a U.S. Army pilot who lived in Junction City (OR) as a child has been recovered from a volcanic lake in El Salvador, where his helicopter crashed Feb. 25.
Warrant Officer Eric David Funderburg, 21, was co-pilot of the Huey UH-1H helicopter. He was one of five crew members on board when the aircraft went down because of mechanical failure, an Army spokesman said Monday. There were no survivors.
The helicopter, based at Soto Cano air base 40 miles northeast of the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa, crashed into Lake Dopango minutes after taking off from Salvadoran air force headquarters.
Funderburg's father, Joe Funderburg, said he wasn't notified until this week that his son's body had been found. Since the accident, Eric Funderburg and the other victims had been listed as missing, he said.
Joe Funderburg said he enlisted the help of U.S. lawmakers, including Oregon Sen. Mark Hatfield, to put pressure on the government to recover the bodies.
"We were told originally that there was a 50-50 chance that they wouldn't salvage the bodies," he said. "I couldn't live with that."
Funderburg said he sent a telegram to President Bush asking for his help. The president responded with a personal letter of support, he said.
Joe Funderburg was raised in Eugene and graduated from Willamette High School and Southern Oregon State College in Ashland. He brought his young family to Junction City in 1970 when he took a position as principal of Laurel and Territorial elementary schools.
The family moved to Phoenix, Ore., in 1973 and relocated six years later to Yreka, Calif., a community of 6,000 near the Oregon border. Eric Funderburg graduated from Yreka High School in 1988.
Joe Funderburg, an elementary school superintendent/principal in Yreka, said his son was a four-year letterman in tennis who attended summer tennis camps in Eugene and also played in Eugene area tennis tournaments.
He said his son was active in the Students Against Drunk Driving program and was instrumental in getting the Yreka School District to start a campaign for an anti-drug education program targeted at young students.
After his graduation, Eric Funderburg attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.
"He finished his freshman year there," Joe Funderburg said. "Then he called me one day and said, 'Dad, are you sitting down? I've joined the Army.'"
Funderburg said his son entered the Army to fulfill his dream of becoming a pilot. "He lived his life and dreamed his dreams and probably achieved more in his 21 years than most people do in a lifetime," he said.
In addition to his father, Eric Funderburg is survived by his mother, Janet, a special education teacher in Yreka; a sister, Erin, a 19-year-old college student; his grandparents, Chet and Doris Naslund of Yreka, and other relatives.
A military memorial service was held last month in El Salvador for Funderburg and the other crash victims. A second service for Funderburg, which drew more than 500 people, was held recently at Yreka High School, Joe Funderburg said.
Eric Funderburg is to be buried Friday with full military honors during a 1:30 p.m. ceremony at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Francisco. Reiley's Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
A college scholarship fund to assist Yreka High School tennis players has been established in Funderburg's name. Donations may be mailed to Yreka High School, Preece Way (no street number), Yreka, Calif. 96097.