Donald registered for the army on his 18th birthday. He became a paratrooper assigned to Co. A 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division, and was wounded near Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.  He was hit by a bullet headed for his heart, which was stopped by his hand and the forestock of his rifle.   The following day, he was evacuated in a truckload of wounded  soldiers when the truck ran into a German roadblock.  Machine gun killed the driver in the back of his head. He was seated just ahead of Don. Don was bent over, the bullet slit the back of Don's jacket, his collar and the back edge of his helmet. Both events, had they been an inch one way or another, he would have been killed.

After VE-day he was a member of the 506th Regimental Rifle Team and also the Regimental Honor Company. In his civilian life, Don tracked down over 200 men who had passed through his WWll unit and mailed a company newsletter to survivors annually until his death  in 2017.  He was a Life Member of the 101st Airborne Division Assoc. He served twice on the board of governors and was given three Presidential awards and he was President of the Michigan 101st chapter.

Don was a true Patriot.  He loved his country and his family.

- The Straith Family 

Don wrote a beautiful poem about his experience in WWII, to read Return to Dunford Park, click here.