Jordan Marez
Gent Bordoniqi
Per. 4
Donald Fleming
U.S. Navy
Years of Service: 6+
Year Interviewed: 2016
Donald Fleming
My experience interviewing Naval Officer Donald Fleming for King High Remembers was a memorable one that I will never forget. I learned a great deal about the Vietnam War through Mr. Fleming’s eyes as he shared with me and my partner his story and experiences. I also enjoyed getting to know him as a person. I feel like I value what our veterans have done for us even more than I did before meeting him because he made it real for me and I was able to learn more about the sacrifices that veterans have made not just during the wars they fought in, but afterwards as well.
Donald Fleming was born in Gary, Indiana in 1949. While he was in high school, his older brother was in the Army. His older brother told Donald that he would “beat him up” if he joined the Army. But Donald knew at the time that his calling was to serve his country so he enlisted after graduating from high school in 1967. However, he enlisted in the Navy rather than following his older brother into the Army. One reason he said he chose the Navy was because at the time he enlisted, there was a famous Bill Cosby “shtick” in his comedy routine that the average lifespan of a Marine after getting to shore was only 15 seconds. Donald told us he thought to himself, “Well, I want to fight for my country but I want to live longer than 15 seconds!”
For his boot camp, he had the option of going to the Great Lakes area which was near where he grew up (only 20 miles away) or to San Diego. And of course, how could a young man from Indiana resist going to California and the beach? So he ended up going through boot camp at the Naval training center in San Diego. He shared with us that he felt that basic training does not really prepare you specifically for combat but that it “breaks you in.” A misconception about boot camp is that officers demean other trainees but he found this to be false because the truth is that officers knew that they would one day they would have to fight next to those they trained and they had to be able to count on the men around them.
Donald did admit to us that he faced some racism during his service in the Navy. But he did not dwell on this or let it deter him from his military service. The main thing he wanted to share about the military is that respect is not given, it has to be earned. You have to earn the respect of your commanding officers and your fellow soldiers.
After boot camp, he was stationed on a guided missile destroyer. He did not tell us the name of the destroyer but there were several Naval destroyers that embarked from San Diego for missions during the Vietnam War. He went on what he called the “Western Pacific” cruise after leaving San Diego in 1969. He shared that he greatly enjoyed his time on the ship and if he could go back and experience that part of his service again, he would. He helped run, service and maintain the generator on the ship. During the Vietnam War, he said it was stressful to fight on the destroyer because of its military destructive capability and he and the other crew members felt that they were “sitting ducks” as they did get shot at while on ship during the war.
One thing I learned from Donald that was very interesting from a historical perspective was that he realized when he was over there that it was impossible for the United States to win the Vietnam War because despite having superior military capability, such as from the Naval destroyers and other ships, they were not allowed to use their missiles or other weapons of mass destruction such as high payload bombs. TheU.S. military did not fully utilize its fire power capability in the wake of what happened in World War II with the dropping of the nuclear bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. There was international resistance and a reluctance on the part of the U.S to be involved in another war in which we used weapons for mass killings of innocent civilians. He saw this happening firsthand how we did not fight the war to full capability of our military power and therefore were never going to win. He told us, “We did not fight the way we could have with the weapons that we had. It was political because of resistance to what we were doing over there.”
He told us that on his way to Vietnam on his excursion on the ship, everyone was serious, focused and concentrating on what lie ahead. But on his way back from being deployed and fighting, it was more like coming back from a sporting event with a team – it was like they felt so much relief that they had survived. It was more lighthearted and their way of blowing off steam. Donald described the contrast between going over to Vietnam vs. coming back on the ship after they completed their tour of duty: “Everyone was in a serious mood going over there. We were all focused and concentrating on what we had to do once we got to [Vietnam]. But on the way back, man, it was like we were part of a team after a big game that we had won. We were almost celebrating, blowing off steam and goofing around.” When he shared these memories, I could tell that he really remembered exactly what it was like to be in the war at the time. For example, he shared, “Over there, we took it really seriously at all times. Some of us were scared even though no one would admit it. We didn’t know what to expect or if we would make it back alive. Then, when we did come back, we were treated badly which we had no idea would happen…”
After he shared this, my partner and I asked him about what it was like personally for him when he returned from the war because we have both heard that Vietnam veterans were treated really horribly by the American public when they got back to the States. He admitted to us that he was informed not to wear his uniform in public and he heard about how many returning Vietnam veterans were spit on and yelled at and, in general, held in contempt. He said it didn’t happen to him but also said, “Those things definitely happened. It was hard to believe because it was not like we were responsible for the war or what happened over there. Particularly us in the U.S. Navy who were on the ships.”
Donald also told us that he never took drugs but that there was widespread drug use among soldiers because it was a way to escape the reality of war and the toll it took on people. He witnessed an incident involving a soldier who had a bad drug trip and this scared him away from ever getting involved with drugs. The bottom line was that many soldiers dealt with a great deal of stress when they were deployed in combat as well as after they got home.
After the war, he was employed by G.E. developing and manufacturing jet engines. He went on to become a very successful engineer. He stays involved with his military comrades through being the President of the Buford A. Johnson Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. which meets in MorenoValley. An actual member of the Tuskegee Airmen has gone to speak at his chapter and just as I had great awe and admiration in speaking with Donald Fleming, he has that respect for this person. I thank Donald Fleming for his service to our country and for his willingness to share his memories to help educate students like me so that we can understand and appreciate what our military has done and continues to do for America. Not only did he change my perspective on the Vietnam War and the Navy, but he also made me realize what it means to be a true American and make real sacrifices through military service.
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