Roll of Honor
Donald Kee
Incident
Border Patrol Inspector Donald Kee and Pilot William Buckelew were killed when their plane crashed into the Rio Grande River three miles east of Rio Grande City, Texas, while assisting ground units in apprehending a group of illegal aliens at about 4:30 pm. The Piper Super Cub was banking to return to a field when it suddenly plunged into a river. Inspector Kee was killed on impact and Pilot Buckelew succumbed to his injuries en route to a hospital. Inspector Kee had served with the United States Border Patrol for nearly 10 years. He was survived by his wife and daughter. He is buried in Union Cemetery in Gustine, Texas.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-D9B01AA4- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Border Patrol Inspector Kee gave the United States Department of Justice 9 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Border Patrol Inspector Kee.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Border Patrol Inspector Donald Kee is one of 10,094 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,586 officers honored here.
In DC, 454 of 1,419 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32% of this state's fallen. That is 1 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol, 46 of 68 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 67.6% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Donald Kee's cause is highlighted.
How Donald Kee Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Donald Kee is highlighted in Jul.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
67 officers from United States Department of Justice - Immigration and Naturalization Service - United States Border Patrol are honored on badge.nw. Showing the 16 most recent.
