On Monday, a US Air Force F-18 crashed into a residential area of San Diego, California. The pilot ejected and survived, but his jet crashed into a local home, killing four people inside.

I must admit that after the crash I expected to hear an outcry for an inquiry and a lawsuit, but what I have seen has surprised me. On Tuesday, the husband, Dong Yun Yoon, spoke publicly about his loss. One neighbor noted that he “had seen [Dong Yun Yoon] kiss his wife and baby goodbye in the driveway just hours before the crash.” This loving father, with the loss of his entire family fresh on his heart, issued the following statement:

“Please pray for [the pilot] not to suffer from this accident….

He is one of our treasures for the country….

I don’t blame him. I don’t have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could….”

This man, surrounded by members of his church and mourning the loss of his family, thought to ask Americans to pray for the pilot. He knew that the man’s actions will haunt him forever, but he desired that God would provide him peace.

I know that Dong Yun Yoon will remember Monday, December 8, 2008 for the rest of his life, and I know that the memories will be painful. So I would echo Michelle Malkin’s sentiment and ask that you pray for this man. Ask that God would look upon his pain and comfort him. With forgiveness and patriotism like his, he is, to use his own words, “one of our treasures for the country.”

UPDATE: Michelle Malkin writes here that you can write to Don Yun Yoon.

This is the address for his church, where his pastor has promised to forward postcards on to him:

Dong Yun Yoon
c/o Rev. Kevin Lee
Korean United Methodist Church
3520 Mount Acadia Blvd
San Diego, CA 92111

Sources: CNN and MSNBC and AP

Photo courtesy of CNN