A great, heroic, everyday average citizen
Published on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 by John PierreRead More The Constant Curmudgeon
Yep, there are at least 40,000 stories in Edmonds.
All we have to do is talk to the people around us to discover these many intriguing tales.
91-year-old Don Dawson (an almost daily regular at Claire's) is just one of them.
Born in Mullen, Idaho, his family moved to Powell River in British Columbia when he was just a young'un. There he spent his school years and was very much involved in all kinds of sports including soccer, lacrosse, baseball and, in his spare time, was otherwise occupied chasing girls.
Later, he worked in a lumber mill there until, right after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he decided to get into the military.
His two brothers joined the Canadian Army and Canadian Air Force respectively while Don decided to move to the U.S. (where he and his family were still citizens) and join the US Navy when the war with Japan was only three months old.
As part of the small crew of a "sub chaser" he saw action off many of the islands in the South Pacific for a couple years before being transferred to the aircraft carrier USS Vella Gulf - CVE-111 (built in Tacoma by Todd-Pacific Shipyards).
During his attachment, she was awarded a Battle Star for action in the South Pacific against four enemy destroyers in which three of them were sunk by her F4U Corsairs, F6F Hellcats and TBM Avengers. Don was part of the gunnery crew manning "twin 40s" (40 mm anti-aircraft cannons sometimes referred to as "ack acks" or "pom poms") who inflicted considerable damage on attacking enemy aircraft.
Upon his honorable discharge in '46, he returned to Canada and the sawmill where his job was still open. There he met and married Fern, his wife of 47 years, and they moved to the United States.
Don spent 35 years as stage manager and stagehand with the Seattle Opera House.
He met hundreds of celebrities from the music world but, as part of the crew, he didn't think it appropriate to seek autographs except for a couple of times when wife, Fern, wanted a special one.
One such autograph was gotten for her from Cristy Lane, well known for her song "One Day at a Time."
An avid golfer, Don says he has played just about every course in the area at one time or another. He continued golfing until he finally gave it up at 76 years of age.
Don and Fern moved from West Seattle to Edmonds 15 years ago and took up residence at the Creek Side apartments where he now lives alone after the loss of his wife.
A close family, his children (two daughters, Karen and Lynne, who have blessed him with three grandchildren) continue to have near daily contact with him.
Karen and her husband, Keith, often accompany him (in order to provide transportation as he gave up driving a few years ago) to his lunch at Claire's.
We all owe Don a salute and a debt of gratitude for his part in keeping America safe.
Most historians agree that those Americans who fought in WWII were the "Greatest Generation."
Many sacrificed all to preserve our country's freedom. Don was one of the lucky ones who returned.
All we have to do is talk to the people around us to discover these many intriguing tales.
91-year-old Don Dawson (an almost daily regular at Claire's) is just one of them.
Born in Mullen, Idaho, his family moved to Powell River in British Columbia when he was just a young'un. There he spent his school years and was very much involved in all kinds of sports including soccer, lacrosse, baseball and, in his spare time, was otherwise occupied chasing girls.
Later, he worked in a lumber mill there until, right after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he decided to get into the military.
His two brothers joined the Canadian Army and Canadian Air Force respectively while Don decided to move to the U.S. (where he and his family were still citizens) and join the US Navy when the war with Japan was only three months old.
As part of the small crew of a "sub chaser" he saw action off many of the islands in the South Pacific for a couple years before being transferred to the aircraft carrier USS Vella Gulf - CVE-111 (built in Tacoma by Todd-Pacific Shipyards).
During his attachment, she was awarded a Battle Star for action in the South Pacific against four enemy destroyers in which three of them were sunk by her F4U Corsairs, F6F Hellcats and TBM Avengers. Don was part of the gunnery crew manning "twin 40s" (40 mm anti-aircraft cannons sometimes referred to as "ack acks" or "pom poms") who inflicted considerable damage on attacking enemy aircraft.
Upon his honorable discharge in '46, he returned to Canada and the sawmill where his job was still open. There he met and married Fern, his wife of 47 years, and they moved to the United States.
Don spent 35 years as stage manager and stagehand with the Seattle Opera House.
He met hundreds of celebrities from the music world but, as part of the crew, he didn't think it appropriate to seek autographs except for a couple of times when wife, Fern, wanted a special one.
One such autograph was gotten for her from Cristy Lane, well known for her song "One Day at a Time."
An avid golfer, Don says he has played just about every course in the area at one time or another. He continued golfing until he finally gave it up at 76 years of age.
Don and Fern moved from West Seattle to Edmonds 15 years ago and took up residence at the Creek Side apartments where he now lives alone after the loss of his wife.
A close family, his children (two daughters, Karen and Lynne, who have blessed him with three grandchildren) continue to have near daily contact with him.
Karen and her husband, Keith, often accompany him (in order to provide transportation as he gave up driving a few years ago) to his lunch at Claire's.
We all owe Don a salute and a debt of gratitude for his part in keeping America safe.
Most historians agree that those Americans who fought in WWII were the "Greatest Generation."
Many sacrificed all to preserve our country's freedom. Don was one of the lucky ones who returned.