Donald Conroy
{{Short description|US Marine Corps officer}}
{{Infobox military person
|name = Donald Conroy
|birth_date = {{birth date|1921|4|4}}
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1998|5|9|1921|4|4}}
|birth_place = Chicago, Illinois
|death_place = Beaufort, South Carolina
|placeofburial = Beaufort National Cemetery
|placeofburial_label = Place of burial
|image =
|caption =
|nickname =
|allegiance = United States of America
|branch = United States Marine Corps
|serviceyears = 1941–1974
|rank = Colonel
|commands =
|unit = VMF-214
|battles =
{{tree list}}
- World War II
- Korean War
- Battle of Pusan Perimeter
- Battle of Inchon
- Battle of Chosin Reservoir
- Vietnam War
{{tree list/end}}
|awards =
|laterwork =
}}
Donald Conroy (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 1998) was a United States Marine Corps colonel and a member of the Black Sheep Squadron during the Korean War. He was also a veteran of World War II and served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He is best known for being the inspiration for the character Lieutenant Colonel "Bull" Meecham in the novel The Great Santini, which was written by his son Pat Conroy.
Life and career
Conroy was originally from Chicago and left Saint Ambrose College in Davenport, Iowa, to enlist in the Marines during World War II. He would later be commissioned an officer and become a pilot with VMF-214 when the Korean War began in June 1950. The squadron became the first Marine squadron to see action during the war, providing close air support and aerial interdiction during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter, Battle of Inchon and Battle of Chosin Reservoir while flying from the {{USS|Sicily|CVE-118|6}}. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Conroy was part of an A-4 Skyhawk squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. They were alerted and would quickly deploy to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station where they would remain for the duration of the crisis. He would also serve two tours in Vietnam during the Vietnam War.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/14/us/donald-conroy-77-model-for-the-great-santini-dies.html |title=Donald Conroy, 77, Model For 'The Great Santini,' Dies |author=Robert McG. Thomas Jr. |author-link=Robert McG. Thomas Jr. |date=May 14, 1998 |newspaper=The New York Times}}
He and his wife Peggy had seven children: Donald Patrick "Pat", Carol, Mike, Kathy, Jim, Tim, and Tom. Novelist Pat Conroy used his father as the inspiration for the fictitious character Marine Lt. Col. "Bull" Meecham in The Great Santini (spelled "Meechum" in the 1979 movie version starring Robert Duvall). Pat Conroy wrote another autobiographical book called My Losing Season, and as in The Great Santini, talks about how his father was very violent and abusive both towards him and his siblings. (The abuse took psychological form for all the children, and was additionally physical towards the male siblings.) Pat's sister Carol was institutionalized with mental illness, his brother, Tom, developed schizophrenia (and later committed suicide at age 33), and Pat himself also attempted suicide in 1975. Pat indicated violent memories of his father haunted his every waking moment, a theme the author fictionalizes in his novel The Prince of Tides.O'Neill, Molly. - FILM: "Pat Conroy's Tale: Of Time and 'Tides'". - The New York Times. – December 22, 1991.
However, in later years, following his retirement from the Marines, Donald Conroy mended his relationships with his children. In The Pat Conroy Cookbook, Pat Conroy provides numerous stories of his close relationship with his father during adulthood. He writes that in writing The Great Santini, his father aided him by supplying technical details about military fighter planes, and that this helped to improve their relationship. When the book was published, Donald Conroy saw the character of Bull Meecham as a truthful tribute. Thereafter, he would accompany Pat to book signings and would sign his son's books with the signature, "Donald Conroy – The Great Santini."
{{blockquote|text=When other writers asked me why I allowed this incursion, I explained that my father and I had to search for ways to say we loved each other without saying the words.|sign=Pat ConroyConroy, Pat - "The Pat Conroy Cookbook," pg. 88}}
After retirement, Conroy moved to Atlanta, Georgia. He died from colon cancer on May 9, 1998, and is interred at Beaufort National Cemetery, South Carolina. As Bull Meecham/Meechum is killed in the crash of his fighter in both the novel and movie versions of The Great Santini, and his funeral scene was filmed at the same cemetery for the movie, Conroy joked while planning his own funeral that it would be the second time he would be buried there.
Awards and decorations
His decorations and medals include:[http://www.beaufortsc.net/Notable_Beaufortonians.html image] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110040212/http://www.beaufortsc.net/Notable_Beaufortonians.html |date=November 10, 2010 }} from Beaufort, South Carolina, website
| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |
| colspan="4"|200px |
| colspan="4"|{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=award-star|ribbon=Distinguished Flying Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=4|type=award-star|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} {{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=United States Navy Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United States Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Phliber rib.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines).svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation (Korea).svg|width=106}} |
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |
| colspan="12"|Naval Aviator Badge |
| colspan="4" align="right" |Distinguished Flying Cross w/ 2 award stars
|colspan="4"|Air Medal w/ 4 award stars |colspan="4" align="left" |Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ 1 service star |
| colspan="3"|Army Presidential Unit Citation
|colspan="3"|Navy Unit Commendation w/ 4 service stars |colspan="3"|American Campaign Medal |colspan="3"|Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 service star |
| colspan="3"|World War II Victory Medal
|colspan="3"|Navy Occupation Service Medal |colspan="3"|National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 service star |colspan="3"|Korean Service Medal w/ 4 service stars |
| colspan="3"|United Nations Korea Medal
|colspan="3"|Philippine Liberation Medal w/ 1 service star |colspan="3"|Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines) |colspan="3"|Presidential Unit Citation (Korea) |
| |
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See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.usna63.org/tradition/history/Eulogy_Conroy.html Eulogy for a Fighter Pilot, by his son, Pat Conroy]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conroy, Donald}}
Category:United States Marine Corps officers
Category:United States Naval Aviators
Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II
Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War
Category:American Korean War pilots
Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Category:Recipients of the Air Medal
Category:Military personnel from Chicago