Donald was born to Chester and Rosella and had three siblings, brother Steve and younger sisters Suzanne and Brenda. After graduating from Hutchinson High School, Donald entered the Navy on Aug 26, 1966 completing basics at Great Lakes and advanced training at Jacksonville, FL with assignment to the gulf off Vietnam. Aboard the USS Coral Sea,one of three carriers on "Yankee Station", Aviation Orindanceman 3/c Maki received burns from an explosion of the coast of North Vietnam. Donald fought for six weeks at Brooks General Hospital at Fort Sam Houston, TX before dying of his injuries. The 19 year was buried with full military rites. - Information found in an article from the Dec 13, 1967 edition of the Hutchinson Leader.
Additional info from member Tom Reece:
USS CORAL SEA, TF 77, 7TH FLEET
Donald may be found on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. at location Panel 28E Line 092.
Additional information from (www.virtualwall.org):
On 25 Octoer 1967, a 50inch ZUNI rocket exploded in a below-decks rocket assembly area aboard USS CORAL SEA. Nine men were seriously injured by burns and fragments. Four of the men died of their injuries...These men did not receive the Purple Heart; their injuries were not caused by hostile action, but rather resulted from the inherent dangers of their day-to-day work.
However, they are no less a casualty of the war than the infantryman who died of a hostile gunshot wound or the aviator shot down by hostile fire.
I did not serve with Petty Officer Maki; my combat missions were flown from the decks of USS AMERICA and USS CONSTELLATION. But I do know, and testify to, the dangers our enlisted me encountered every time they left their racks and started another 16 hour working day. And I know they earned my respect for the way they performed hazardous tasks in a dangerous environment.
I offer a salute to Aviation Ordinance 3rd Class Donald D. Maki...KJ Davis, Commander, US Navy (Ret), "(Used with permission from Ken Davis)"
Special thanks to Tom and Redfox for adding to young Mr. Maki's memorial.
Below biography by sister, Suzanne, from "The Faces Behind the Names The Vietnam War" by Don Ward. Biography appears on pages 254-55.
Donald Dale Maki
Navy Aviation Ordinanceman Three
Born: July 26, 1948
Died: December 7, 1967
What I want people to know about my brother, Donnie Maki? What would people want to know about a 19-year-old boy who died in the service of his country during the Vietnam War? I've asked myself those questions time after time. I don't know why the answers come with so much difficulty. Donnie is not to be forgotten by anyone who knew him. Our family talks about him often now. For 25 years it was too hard to talk about. It was too hard to face the sadness of our parents. It was extremely hard when we found out his names wasn't included among those on the Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C. It was like he didn't matter. His death was the result of an accident.
Donnie was a charming, lovable guy. Girls loved him. He was a prankster. He loved to pull off a good joke. I was 16 when he was in the Navy. I remember him telling me that he and his buddies would go into the bars with an opened can of alphabet vegetable soup in their coats and pretend to barf on the bar and then pick letters out and eat them! He thought it was great fun, shocking people. I thought he was a "man of the world" at 19!
Donnie and Steve, our other brother, were both in the service. Our dad, Chet, was a old Navy man from World War II. He didn't really care what branch you were in, but believed that a person should enlist and go. (Of course, the draft didn't leave you much choice.) But I think Dad was really proud that one of his sons followed him into the Navy. Donnie would write letters to Steve, heckling him about being a "flyboy." And Airman Steve Maki would write back to his "swabby" brother. Mom and Dad saved almost all of the boys' letters. Donnie would call Mom his "favorite girlfriend," and in a separate letter to Dad would speak of all the things guys talk about. In recent years, I reread those letters. It was sad to read Donnie's regrets about being out to sea. He said he'd made a mistake and couldn't wait to get out and come back to Minnesota. Then the letters stopped.
On October 25, 1967, there was an accidental explosion onboard the USS Coral Sea. Fire ripped through the corridors and the room where Donnie and others were loading rockets. He and another sailor, John Carr, got out, but Donnie went back in to pullout another man. He told our parents, his brother, Steve, and his older sister, Jeanne, when he was in the hospital that he tried to grab an arm to pull the man out, but clothing and flesh came off. So he reached around his chest and his fingers sank into the ribs. He said that's when he passed out. I don't know how he got out after that, but he lived for six weeks, burned severely over 80 percent of his body. He suffered terribly-and so did Mom and Dad. He died on December 7, the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the day that caused my father to enlist in the Navy so many years before.
Twenty-five years later, Joanne and younger sister Brenda, along with Legionnaires, friends, and politicians tookk up the fight to make his death count for something. Why wasn't his name on the Wall? Excuses, letters, phone calls...years of red tape, until a friend asked, "Are the others who died from that accident on the Wall?" They were. There were no more excuses. The others all died right after the accident, but Donnie had held on for so long. He certainly paid the price.
Our family was invited to Washington for the Memorial Day service at the Vietnam Memorial. We got to hear President Clinton's address, as well as all of the hecklers shouting at him. People warned us that seeing the Wall would be so emotional, but the first time we saw his name there, all we felt was satisfaction. It was a couple of feet away from the name of one of his shipmates, who also died that day. Donnie was where he belonged. Leaving Washington was hard because we "left" him there-with his comrades.
The next year, Donnie's name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in St. Paul [Minnesota]. His three sisters by proudly as they etched the name: DONALD D. MAKI. Our father and mother are so proud when they go to Dad's USS J. Franklin Bell reunions, that their son's sacrifice has been honored.
Honor is a word people don't use too much anymore. It's funny what it can do to you. It's sad what dishonor can do. Each man or woman who died in the service of their country was someone's brother or sister, father or mother, wife or husband, son or daughter. They had a life, a story-and they gave it up. I'm very pleased that now, these stories will be told.
The family of Donald Maki are: parents, Chet and Sally Maki; brother, Steve Maki; sisters, Jeanne (Maki) Tuman, Suzanne (Maki) Hoskins, and Brenda (Maki) Rydberg.
Published:1996 Don Ward DBA The Memorial Press, Bloomington, MN
Additional info from member Tom Reece:
USS CORAL SEA, TF 77, 7TH FLEET
Donald may be found on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. at location Panel 28E Line 092.
Additional information from (www.virtualwall.org):
On 25 Octoer 1967, a 50inch ZUNI rocket exploded in a below-decks rocket assembly area aboard USS CORAL SEA. Nine men were seriously injured by burns and fragments. Four of the men died of their injuries...These men did not receive the Purple Heart; their injuries were not caused by hostile action, but rather resulted from the inherent dangers of their day-to-day work.
However, they are no less a casualty of the war than the infantryman who died of a hostile gunshot wound or the aviator shot down by hostile fire.
I did not serve with Petty Officer Maki; my combat missions were flown from the decks of USS AMERICA and USS CONSTELLATION. But I do know, and testify to, the dangers our enlisted me encountered every time they left their racks and started another 16 hour working day. And I know they earned my respect for the way they performed hazardous tasks in a dangerous environment.
I offer a salute to Aviation Ordinance 3rd Class Donald D. Maki...KJ Davis, Commander, US Navy (Ret), "(Used with permission from Ken Davis)"
Special thanks to Tom and Redfox for adding to young Mr. Maki's memorial.
Below biography by sister, Suzanne, from "The Faces Behind the Names The Vietnam War" by Don Ward. Biography appears on pages 254-55.
Donald Dale Maki
Navy Aviation Ordinanceman Three
Born: July 26, 1948
Died: December 7, 1967
What I want people to know about my brother, Donnie Maki? What would people want to know about a 19-year-old boy who died in the service of his country during the Vietnam War? I've asked myself those questions time after time. I don't know why the answers come with so much difficulty. Donnie is not to be forgotten by anyone who knew him. Our family talks about him often now. For 25 years it was too hard to talk about. It was too hard to face the sadness of our parents. It was extremely hard when we found out his names wasn't included among those on the Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C. It was like he didn't matter. His death was the result of an accident.
Donnie was a charming, lovable guy. Girls loved him. He was a prankster. He loved to pull off a good joke. I was 16 when he was in the Navy. I remember him telling me that he and his buddies would go into the bars with an opened can of alphabet vegetable soup in their coats and pretend to barf on the bar and then pick letters out and eat them! He thought it was great fun, shocking people. I thought he was a "man of the world" at 19!
Donnie and Steve, our other brother, were both in the service. Our dad, Chet, was a old Navy man from World War II. He didn't really care what branch you were in, but believed that a person should enlist and go. (Of course, the draft didn't leave you much choice.) But I think Dad was really proud that one of his sons followed him into the Navy. Donnie would write letters to Steve, heckling him about being a "flyboy." And Airman Steve Maki would write back to his "swabby" brother. Mom and Dad saved almost all of the boys' letters. Donnie would call Mom his "favorite girlfriend," and in a separate letter to Dad would speak of all the things guys talk about. In recent years, I reread those letters. It was sad to read Donnie's regrets about being out to sea. He said he'd made a mistake and couldn't wait to get out and come back to Minnesota. Then the letters stopped.
On October 25, 1967, there was an accidental explosion onboard the USS Coral Sea. Fire ripped through the corridors and the room where Donnie and others were loading rockets. He and another sailor, John Carr, got out, but Donnie went back in to pullout another man. He told our parents, his brother, Steve, and his older sister, Jeanne, when he was in the hospital that he tried to grab an arm to pull the man out, but clothing and flesh came off. So he reached around his chest and his fingers sank into the ribs. He said that's when he passed out. I don't know how he got out after that, but he lived for six weeks, burned severely over 80 percent of his body. He suffered terribly-and so did Mom and Dad. He died on December 7, the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the day that caused my father to enlist in the Navy so many years before.
Twenty-five years later, Joanne and younger sister Brenda, along with Legionnaires, friends, and politicians tookk up the fight to make his death count for something. Why wasn't his name on the Wall? Excuses, letters, phone calls...years of red tape, until a friend asked, "Are the others who died from that accident on the Wall?" They were. There were no more excuses. The others all died right after the accident, but Donnie had held on for so long. He certainly paid the price.
Our family was invited to Washington for the Memorial Day service at the Vietnam Memorial. We got to hear President Clinton's address, as well as all of the hecklers shouting at him. People warned us that seeing the Wall would be so emotional, but the first time we saw his name there, all we felt was satisfaction. It was a couple of feet away from the name of one of his shipmates, who also died that day. Donnie was where he belonged. Leaving Washington was hard because we "left" him there-with his comrades.
The next year, Donnie's name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in St. Paul [Minnesota]. His three sisters by proudly as they etched the name: DONALD D. MAKI. Our father and mother are so proud when they go to Dad's USS J. Franklin Bell reunions, that their son's sacrifice has been honored.
Honor is a word people don't use too much anymore. It's funny what it can do to you. It's sad what dishonor can do. Each man or woman who died in the service of their country was someone's brother or sister, father or mother, wife or husband, son or daughter. They had a life, a story-and they gave it up. I'm very pleased that now, these stories will be told.
The family of Donald Maki are: parents, Chet and Sally Maki; brother, Steve Maki; sisters, Jeanne (Maki) Tuman, Suzanne (Maki) Hoskins, and Brenda (Maki) Rydberg.
Published:1996 Don Ward DBA The Memorial Press, Bloomington, MN
Donald was born to Chester and Rosella and had three siblings, brother Steve and younger sisters Suzanne and Brenda. After graduating from Hutchinson High School, Donald entered the Navy on Aug 26, 1966 completing basics at Great Lakes and advanced training at Jacksonville, FL with assignment to the gulf off Vietnam. Aboard the USS Coral Sea,one of three carriers on "Yankee Station", Aviation Orindanceman 3/c Maki received burns from an explosion of the coast of North Vietnam. Donald fought for six weeks at Brooks General Hospital at Fort Sam Houston, TX before dying of his injuries. The 19 year was buried with full military rites. - Information found in an article from the Dec 13, 1967 edition of the Hutchinson Leader.
Additional info from member Tom Reece:
USS CORAL SEA, TF 77, 7TH FLEET
Donald may be found on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. at location Panel 28E Line 092.
Additional information from (www.virtualwall.org):
On 25 Octoer 1967, a 50inch ZUNI rocket exploded in a below-decks rocket assembly area aboard USS CORAL SEA. Nine men were seriously injured by burns and fragments. Four of the men died of their injuries...These men did not receive the Purple Heart; their injuries were not caused by hostile action, but rather resulted from the inherent dangers of their day-to-day work.
However, they are no less a casualty of the war than the infantryman who died of a hostile gunshot wound or the aviator shot down by hostile fire.
I did not serve with Petty Officer Maki; my combat missions were flown from the decks of USS AMERICA and USS CONSTELLATION. But I do know, and testify to, the dangers our enlisted me encountered every time they left their racks and started another 16 hour working day. And I know they earned my respect for the way they performed hazardous tasks in a dangerous environment.
I offer a salute to Aviation Ordinance 3rd Class Donald D. Maki...KJ Davis, Commander, US Navy (Ret), "(Used with permission from Ken Davis)"
Special thanks to Tom and Redfox for adding to young Mr. Maki's memorial.
Below biography by sister, Suzanne, from "The Faces Behind the Names The Vietnam War" by Don Ward. Biography appears on pages 254-55.
Donald Dale Maki
Navy Aviation Ordinanceman Three
Born: July 26, 1948
Died: December 7, 1967
What I want people to know about my brother, Donnie Maki? What would people want to know about a 19-year-old boy who died in the service of his country during the Vietnam War? I've asked myself those questions time after time. I don't know why the answers come with so much difficulty. Donnie is not to be forgotten by anyone who knew him. Our family talks about him often now. For 25 years it was too hard to talk about. It was too hard to face the sadness of our parents. It was extremely hard when we found out his names wasn't included among those on the Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C. It was like he didn't matter. His death was the result of an accident.
Donnie was a charming, lovable guy. Girls loved him. He was a prankster. He loved to pull off a good joke. I was 16 when he was in the Navy. I remember him telling me that he and his buddies would go into the bars with an opened can of alphabet vegetable soup in their coats and pretend to barf on the bar and then pick letters out and eat them! He thought it was great fun, shocking people. I thought he was a "man of the world" at 19!
Donnie and Steve, our other brother, were both in the service. Our dad, Chet, was a old Navy man from World War II. He didn't really care what branch you were in, but believed that a person should enlist and go. (Of course, the draft didn't leave you much choice.) But I think Dad was really proud that one of his sons followed him into the Navy. Donnie would write letters to Steve, heckling him about being a "flyboy." And Airman Steve Maki would write back to his "swabby" brother. Mom and Dad saved almost all of the boys' letters. Donnie would call Mom his "favorite girlfriend," and in a separate letter to Dad would speak of all the things guys talk about. In recent years, I reread those letters. It was sad to read Donnie's regrets about being out to sea. He said he'd made a mistake and couldn't wait to get out and come back to Minnesota. Then the letters stopped.
On October 25, 1967, there was an accidental explosion onboard the USS Coral Sea. Fire ripped through the corridors and the room where Donnie and others were loading rockets. He and another sailor, John Carr, got out, but Donnie went back in to pullout another man. He told our parents, his brother, Steve, and his older sister, Jeanne, when he was in the hospital that he tried to grab an arm to pull the man out, but clothing and flesh came off. So he reached around his chest and his fingers sank into the ribs. He said that's when he passed out. I don't know how he got out after that, but he lived for six weeks, burned severely over 80 percent of his body. He suffered terribly-and so did Mom and Dad. He died on December 7, the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the day that caused my father to enlist in the Navy so many years before.
Twenty-five years later, Joanne and younger sister Brenda, along with Legionnaires, friends, and politicians tookk up the fight to make his death count for something. Why wasn't his name on the Wall? Excuses, letters, phone calls...years of red tape, until a friend asked, "Are the others who died from that accident on the Wall?" They were. There were no more excuses. The others all died right after the accident, but Donnie had held on for so long. He certainly paid the price.
Our family was invited to Washington for the Memorial Day service at the Vietnam Memorial. We got to hear President Clinton's address, as well as all of the hecklers shouting at him. People warned us that seeing the Wall would be so emotional, but the first time we saw his name there, all we felt was satisfaction. It was a couple of feet away from the name of one of his shipmates, who also died that day. Donnie was where he belonged. Leaving Washington was hard because we "left" him there-with his comrades.
The next year, Donnie's name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in St. Paul [Minnesota]. His three sisters by proudly as they etched the name: DONALD D. MAKI. Our father and mother are so proud when they go to Dad's USS J. Franklin Bell reunions, that their son's sacrifice has been honored.
Honor is a word people don't use too much anymore. It's funny what it can do to you. It's sad what dishonor can do. Each man or woman who died in the service of their country was someone's brother or sister, father or mother, wife or husband, son or daughter. They had a life, a story-and they gave it up. I'm very pleased that now, these stories will be told.
The family of Donald Maki are: parents, Chet and Sally Maki; brother, Steve Maki; sisters, Jeanne (Maki) Tuman, Suzanne (Maki) Hoskins, and Brenda (Maki) Rydberg.
Published:1996 Don Ward DBA The Memorial Press, Bloomington, MN
Additional info from member Tom Reece:
USS CORAL SEA, TF 77, 7TH FLEET
Donald may be found on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. at location Panel 28E Line 092.
Additional information from (www.virtualwall.org):
On 25 Octoer 1967, a 50inch ZUNI rocket exploded in a below-decks rocket assembly area aboard USS CORAL SEA. Nine men were seriously injured by burns and fragments. Four of the men died of their injuries...These men did not receive the Purple Heart; their injuries were not caused by hostile action, but rather resulted from the inherent dangers of their day-to-day work.
However, they are no less a casualty of the war than the infantryman who died of a hostile gunshot wound or the aviator shot down by hostile fire.
I did not serve with Petty Officer Maki; my combat missions were flown from the decks of USS AMERICA and USS CONSTELLATION. But I do know, and testify to, the dangers our enlisted me encountered every time they left their racks and started another 16 hour working day. And I know they earned my respect for the way they performed hazardous tasks in a dangerous environment.
I offer a salute to Aviation Ordinance 3rd Class Donald D. Maki...KJ Davis, Commander, US Navy (Ret), "(Used with permission from Ken Davis)"
Special thanks to Tom and Redfox for adding to young Mr. Maki's memorial.
Below biography by sister, Suzanne, from "The Faces Behind the Names The Vietnam War" by Don Ward. Biography appears on pages 254-55.
Donald Dale Maki
Navy Aviation Ordinanceman Three
Born: July 26, 1948
Died: December 7, 1967
What I want people to know about my brother, Donnie Maki? What would people want to know about a 19-year-old boy who died in the service of his country during the Vietnam War? I've asked myself those questions time after time. I don't know why the answers come with so much difficulty. Donnie is not to be forgotten by anyone who knew him. Our family talks about him often now. For 25 years it was too hard to talk about. It was too hard to face the sadness of our parents. It was extremely hard when we found out his names wasn't included among those on the Memorial Wall in Washington, D. C. It was like he didn't matter. His death was the result of an accident.
Donnie was a charming, lovable guy. Girls loved him. He was a prankster. He loved to pull off a good joke. I was 16 when he was in the Navy. I remember him telling me that he and his buddies would go into the bars with an opened can of alphabet vegetable soup in their coats and pretend to barf on the bar and then pick letters out and eat them! He thought it was great fun, shocking people. I thought he was a "man of the world" at 19!
Donnie and Steve, our other brother, were both in the service. Our dad, Chet, was a old Navy man from World War II. He didn't really care what branch you were in, but believed that a person should enlist and go. (Of course, the draft didn't leave you much choice.) But I think Dad was really proud that one of his sons followed him into the Navy. Donnie would write letters to Steve, heckling him about being a "flyboy." And Airman Steve Maki would write back to his "swabby" brother. Mom and Dad saved almost all of the boys' letters. Donnie would call Mom his "favorite girlfriend," and in a separate letter to Dad would speak of all the things guys talk about. In recent years, I reread those letters. It was sad to read Donnie's regrets about being out to sea. He said he'd made a mistake and couldn't wait to get out and come back to Minnesota. Then the letters stopped.
On October 25, 1967, there was an accidental explosion onboard the USS Coral Sea. Fire ripped through the corridors and the room where Donnie and others were loading rockets. He and another sailor, John Carr, got out, but Donnie went back in to pullout another man. He told our parents, his brother, Steve, and his older sister, Jeanne, when he was in the hospital that he tried to grab an arm to pull the man out, but clothing and flesh came off. So he reached around his chest and his fingers sank into the ribs. He said that's when he passed out. I don't know how he got out after that, but he lived for six weeks, burned severely over 80 percent of his body. He suffered terribly-and so did Mom and Dad. He died on December 7, the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the day that caused my father to enlist in the Navy so many years before.
Twenty-five years later, Joanne and younger sister Brenda, along with Legionnaires, friends, and politicians tookk up the fight to make his death count for something. Why wasn't his name on the Wall? Excuses, letters, phone calls...years of red tape, until a friend asked, "Are the others who died from that accident on the Wall?" They were. There were no more excuses. The others all died right after the accident, but Donnie had held on for so long. He certainly paid the price.
Our family was invited to Washington for the Memorial Day service at the Vietnam Memorial. We got to hear President Clinton's address, as well as all of the hecklers shouting at him. People warned us that seeing the Wall would be so emotional, but the first time we saw his name there, all we felt was satisfaction. It was a couple of feet away from the name of one of his shipmates, who also died that day. Donnie was where he belonged. Leaving Washington was hard because we "left" him there-with his comrades.
The next year, Donnie's name was added to the Vietnam Memorial in St. Paul [Minnesota]. His three sisters by proudly as they etched the name: DONALD D. MAKI. Our father and mother are so proud when they go to Dad's USS J. Franklin Bell reunions, that their son's sacrifice has been honored.
Honor is a word people don't use too much anymore. It's funny what it can do to you. It's sad what dishonor can do. Each man or woman who died in the service of their country was someone's brother or sister, father or mother, wife or husband, son or daughter. They had a life, a story-and they gave it up. I'm very pleased that now, these stories will be told.
The family of Donald Maki are: parents, Chet and Sally Maki; brother, Steve Maki; sisters, Jeanne (Maki) Tuman, Suzanne (Maki) Hoskins, and Brenda (Maki) Rydberg.
Published:1996 Don Ward DBA The Memorial Press, Bloomington, MN
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