Local kid does a good job. We're proud of him.
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WHS alum has splash with history
by Don Mann - Staff Writer
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Lt. MacDonald is seen above in command of the small boat (right) recovering the life boat used by the pirates.
US Navy Lt. Eric MacDonald, a Woodinville native and 1990 graduate of WHS, found himself on the fringe of history on April 9 when he was aboard the small boat that recovered the lifeboat in which Maersk Alabama captain Richard Phillips was held hostage and three Somali pirates were killed by Navy SEAL snipers.
MacDonald is currently aboard the USS Boxer, the pirate task force command ship patrolling waters in the Indian Ocean’s Gulf of Aden, and was unreachable for comment, his father Bill McDonald said.
McDonald said he has limited contact with his son because of a naval communications blackout. Lt. MacDonald (he uses the original Scottish surname spelling, his father explained) is a meteorological and oceanographic officer who works in the ship’s briefing room and therefore has classified status.
The father said his son was aboard the Boxer, approximately two miles away from the destroyer USS Bainbridge, which had been dispatched to the Maersk Alabama in response to its April 8 seizure by pirates, at the time of the incident.
Approximately two hours after Phillips’ rescue, MacDonald and crew arrived in a smaller boat to recover the empty lifeboat, his father said.
MacDonald’s wife Amy — also a Woodinville native (formerly Amy Zeutschel, WHS class of ’89) — and one-year-old daughter Zoe are currently staying with Eric’s parents in Woodinville while awaiting his return to his home port of San Diego.
The couple are expecting their second child.
A US Navy Web site reported that MacDonald leads a crew that contributes hourly weather information to Boxer’s leadership for operational planning.
"My job is to provide weather and oceanography support to the strike group," Mac Donald is quoted on NAVY.mil.
"Forecasters gather and analyze weather information, how it will affect pilots and aircraft during flight operations, as well as how the ocean conditions will affect the ships.
"Weather intelligence is one factor that helps preserve Navy assets by mitigating risks, most importantly, human life and equipment."
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