Haley Williams
4.09.17
US History
Mr. Leduc
Craig Donor, or Gunny, is an incredible musician who served in the Vietnam War. With his impeccable sense of humor, he shares his stories that open eyes to what the real world is like. He teaches that life isn’t easy, but there will be times that make you realize everything is worth it. He became a Marine in 1966; the beginning of the story that inspired him to compose his music, poetry, and share his story about the community.
Donor grew up in New York with his brothers and sisters where he looked up to his father who was a WWII Veteran. When he was a bit older, he received a letter stating that he would be drafted and decided he’d rather enlist in the Marines where he would be assigned in the Marines Air Wing. Since his father had flown planes and he had been exposed to it since he was 8, this job was perfect for him. After graduating boot camp on December 29th, 1965, he and his class were all submitted into training so that they could be shipped overseas to Vietnam.
Donor’s trip felt like forever and found himself slightly sea-sick at times. There, they all showered in salt water and he volunteered for “Mess Duty”. What this means is that every other day he would serve food to the Marines which gave him the advantage of cutting to the front of the line when it was time to eat. When he wasn’t volunteering, the Mess Duty crew ran the ship.
Unexpectedly, rather than going to Vietnam, orders were changed and he arrived at Naha Okinawa where he became the best engine mechanic around. Eventually an opening came about for him to go to Vietnam. There, he started out by working in maintenance, cleaning bathrooms, and was promoted to manager of the Club where he happily found himself in charge of rather large amounts of beer.
Donor describes the next event to be one of the most memorable: because of his utility cover being rather worn out and leaning to one side (because he removed the piece of cardboard that helped it to stand upright), the CO found it to appear offensive. It didn’t look appropriate for a Marine so he took it, threw it on the floor, set it on fire, and handed him the money to purchase a new, clean cover.
He experienced several attacks and took charge awakening the crew when he suspected one to occur.Donor frequently found himself in a leading positiongiving out instructions and orders and acquired quite a bit of respect just about everywhere he went. Several times throughout his time in the service he was thanked and appreciated as he assisted in the harder jobs where help was always wanted. The danger of it all hadn’t yet phased him. In 1967, he was “sent on leave”; he went home.
On the news the following month were reports of an aircraft crash landing. To his dismay, he recognized the plane. He knew and worked with everyone who had died that day. Seeing people die from something he did regularly horrified him. He realized he had been frequently staring death in the face.
After the war, the first thing he did upon returning to the US was eat spaghetti (he’s pretty proud of that too). As previously mentioned, Craig Donor is a man who often finds himself in a leading position. Since the May 2006, he’s been leading a biker group that attends memorial services for veterans who pass away. He has a belt of hundreds of dog tags from services he’s been to at which they block out protesters who disturb the mourning families. This remarkable human being still writes poetry and music about his dark memories from times of war. He composed a song called “Hit the Wall” which talks about his visit to the Vietnam wall with his biker crew where he saw the names of people he once knew and a poem called “Zero Dark 30” which describes the cold moments of silence and tragic loss while he’s flying in a plane at night.
Donor was married three times in his life and today he is happily settled and in love with with his current girlfriend of 27 years. Just as most people would like, he wants to be remembered for all the good he did and that’s a big part of the reason he still shares his incredible story.