Photo By Master Sgt. Dorian Gardner | Staff Sgt. David Donaldson, a scout observer with Regimental Combat Team 2, cleans his...... read more read more
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CAMP DELARAM II, Afghanistan — Thinking back to stories told during his childhood, one newly promoted veteran now has his own stories to tell when he returns home to family and friends.
Staff Sgt. David R. Donaldson, Regimental Combat Team 2 fires section-chief, was named after two fallen veterans of the Vietnam War, and has long known that he would one day dawn a uniform symbolizing his affiliation with the American military.
Nearly all the men in his family served in the military. Both of his grandfathers served in World War II, while his father served in Vietnam, according to Donaldson.
"Listening to stories, it just made me really appreciate what they did, what they sacrificed," said Donaldson, a Greenwood, Ind. native. "I saw the pride they had. It gave me the motivation, the drive to do this."
According to Donaldson, his grandfather, a Marine who took part in the island-hopping campaign during WWII, told him a story he would never forget.
"He was a mortarman at the time," said Donaldson. "During a patrol, he walked by what looked like a dead Japanese soldier. As he passed by, the soldier rose to his feet. Before the [Japanese soldier] got a shot off, the sergeant following my grandpa shot and killed him."
Hearing many stories such as this during his childhood, every one solidified his decision to one day become a U.S. Marine.
Unlike many of the recruits that enter Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, Donaldson did not step on the yellow footprints until he was 20 years old. The young country boy first tried his hand in college as a part-time student, while working construction.
"After high school, I took some college courses at [Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis] and worked construction; kitchen and bathroom modeling," said Donaldson.
While on his way home one day, Donaldson caught site of a man who would get his military career started.
From the driver's seat of his car, he saw a gunnery sergeant, the staff-noncommissioned officer in charge of a local recruiting substation, walking home. After hitting the brakes, he stepped out of the car, approached the Marine and told him that he was ready to go, according to Donaldson.
After a brief conversation, Donaldson gathered the necessary information he needed, and knew what he had to do in order to enlist. Before the week's end, Donaldson was sworn in. Within two months, Donaldson was aboard a plane, headed for MCRD San Diego.
On November 29, 2004, Donaldson recited the oath all recruits declare before their inauguration.
Over the next 13 weeks, Donaldson underwent a transformation.
"I had no idea what I was getting into," said Donaldson. "I had no idea it would be that intense for that long. I thought it would be something like football two-a-days in August."
Donaldson enjoyed the physical, but more so the mental challenge of training.
"It wasn't push-ups or pull-ups," said Donaldson. "Rappelling down a tower and going head first down a rope ... In boot camp, I learned how to go into any obstacle without fear."
First Lt. Jared Stokes, Regimental Combat Team 2 assistant liaison officer, can attest these characteristics through his close, working relationship with Donaldson.
"He has an unquenchable drive for knowledge," said Stokes. "He is highly motivated and pushes everything to the end."
After Marine Combat Training, Donaldson jumped on another plane, and headed to Fort Sill, Okla., where he would receive his basic training for his military occupational specialty as an 0861, scout observer. In his time there, instructors covered land navigation, procedures to call for fire with artillery and mortar fire, and coordination. After a month of instruction, he finished training aboard Naval Base Coronado, Calif.
"In Coronado, we covered naval gunfire and close air support," said Donaldson.
Midway through his training, Donaldson reunited with his high-school sweetheart and at his first Marine Corps Ball in 2005, he proposed. Since then, the two have been happily married and have a two-year-old son.
With two deployments behind him, Donaldson is currently deployed to Afghanistan.
"Out here, we coordinate with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket system," said Donaldson. "Towards the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom, HIMARS became a primary weapon of the artillery community because of its long-range capabilities and low collateral damage."
An augment from 1st Battalion, 10th Regiment, Donaldson plans on returning from this deployment in 2011, and submitting his package to become a warrant officer.
"I think he would perform very well as an officer," said Stokes. "He is smart and he knows his MOS. If he came back to the artillery community as an officer, he would only improve it. With his knowledge base, and his enthusiasm, he would go far, regardless of MOS."
Recognized as one of RCT-2's youngest Staff NCO's, Donaldson continues to perform with drive and enthusiasm. With 12 months left on his current deployment, Donaldson has plenty of time to plan out his next move in his Marine Corps career.
| Date Taken: | 03.09.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2010 05:23 |
| Story ID: | 48210 |
| Location: | CAMP DELARAM II, AF |
| Web Views: | 498 |
| Downloads: | 160 |
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