2026 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 81
Commending Colonel Donald Caldwell, USAR.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 2, 2026
Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 2026
WHEREAS, Colonel Donald Caldwell, USAR, a distinguished prosecutor who served as the Commonwealth's attorney of the City of Roanoke for 46 years, retired on December 31, 2025; and
WHEREAS, Donald Caldwell earned a bachelor's degree from the Virginia Military Institute and served his country honorably for 21 years, achieving the rank of colonel in the United States Army Reserve; and
WHEREAS, after obtaining a law degree at the University of Richmond, Donald Caldwell briefly served as an assistant public defender in Roanoke beginning in 1976 before becoming an assistant Commonwealth's attorney on January 1, 1978; and
WHEREAS, Donald Caldwell was initially appointed to complete the unexpired term of his predecessor starting on October 1, 1979, then was elected 11 consecutive times to serve as the Commonwealth's attorney of the City of Roanoke; and
WHEREAS, at the time of his retirement, Donald Caldwell was the longest-serving active Commonwealth's attorney and the second longest-serving chief prosecutor in the history of the Commonwealth; and