Nathan White, LDS Pilot Shot Down Over Iraq,
Buried at Arlington
An Exclusive Photographic Essay
Photography by Scot Facer Proctor
Essay by Maurine Jensen Proctor
Photos from family files used by permission
All Arlington Photographs Copyright 2003 Scot Facer Proctor
(Use of any photographs herein only by written permission of Meridian Magazine)

click on photos to enlarge

Part 3

Family and friends who follow the casket in the sober walk have so many memories of Nathan. Here are some collected on the website.
Stepmother Sherry White remembered something funny:
“I made some fancy cupcakes with plenty of icing. In each cupcake, wrapped in foil, was a special prize.

There were some quarters, weekly job descriptions, and most important a special free time coupon, redeemable anytime the owner of that coupon presented it. Nathan was at a vulnerable age. All he could see was getting that free time.

It was so funny at the time, and it certainly has gotten better over the years. He must of eaten six or seven of those cupcakes trying to get the free time and ended up getting most of the jobs.

His older sister, Ana, was dying as she watched the spectacle. We couldn't get her to eat one. To this day all I remember is watching those cupcakes go down. He knew what he wanted.“

Jayson Seegmiller who grew up with Nathan remembered lobbing water balloons at Scout camp and the day it got so hot that they fried eggs on Dennis White’s truck, not realizing it would destroy the paint job.

He wrote that Nathan was strong and played a prank on him. “He and I were about the same, 6 feet and about 185 pounds but he always could lift more in the weight room than the rest of us, so we thought!

“One time when I was visiting from California your dad, Lanny Owens and I went to the weight room at Cooper High School (Your dad’s high school). Nathan set up some weights and asked me to go first.

I did and could only lift it a few times. Then your dad did it about a lot more than I did. Turns out Nathan was holding down the weights on the edge every time I lifted up instead of just spotting me to make sure I didn’t drop the weight on myself.

”From the first day we met our families became instant friends and all our days were spent getting into mischief and eating as much food as little boys can eat.”

High school friend Brenda Ferguson wrote:
“I remember out of all my older brother's friends, Nathan was by far the most handsome. Everyone at Cooper loved him because not only was he the most handsome guy in our high school, but he was also the kindest.

“Nathan was a great soccer player. I played tennis, and the tennis courts were right next to the soccer field. All the girls I played tennis with (including myself!) used to sit there and watch Nathan play soccer.

“Nathan was such a natural athlete. I distinctively remember him running the mile laps, and he'd always at the very end turn back and wave to us, and give us his huge smile, and of course we would all die giggling!

“Nathan was also extremely smart. He would come over to our house during the week and we would all hang out. He would announce he had a test the next day, buckle down for one night, and then end up with the high A in the class.

MTC friend Jeremy Poulson said:
“My first memory of Nate was after we had checked into our rooms in the MTC, all of us a little nervous and uncertain about just exactly what we had gotten ourselves into.

I remember that Nate was already in his room when I arrived at mine, which was right next to Nate’s. I remember him greeting me with a very firm handshake followed by a bear hug. I will always remember that big smile that he had on his face. Instantly, my nerves were calmed.

“We talked about everything! From our anxiety of what awaited us in Japan, to our relief that we had finally completed our term in the MTC.

“We were both so excited about going to Japan and serving missions! We even tried to start a religious discussion with the Japanese gentleman sitting next to Nate.

It was then that we realized how awful our Japanese was and just how much work lied ahead of us if we were going to be able to speak the complex language of nihongo!

“It was during that flight that we had our first experience with Japanese food. We both had a hard time getting it down but we ate it.

“It is amazing how two years changed both of us. When it was time for us to return home after our two years of service, not only could we speak Japanese pretty well but we had also grown to love a culture that two years prior seemed so foreign and strange to us. We even learned to love the food.”

When asked about Nathan’s spirituality, Jeremy replied, “He was a giant. If we needed a boost, we’d go to him.”

Click here to go to Part Four of
Nathan White’s Burial at Arlington

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