Fayetteville-Bound Pilot Identified As Decorated Army Doctor

The pilot who died after his plane crashed while en route to Fayetteville, N.C., has been identified as decorated Army doctor Retired Col. Virgil Thomas "Tom" Deal Jr., according to the Fayetteville Observer.

Deal's plane took off Sunday from the Summerville airport, but crashed near Parkton, N.C., before reaching its destination. Witnesses reported hearing the engine of his Piper PA-28 Cherokee sputtering.

Deal lived in Fayetteville, but prior to his death had served previously as command surgeon of Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., and was commander of Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C., according to the Observer. 

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