The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - 23: Donnie's Secret

Episode Date: June 28, 2016

Donnie has a secret... and it's a doozie.

The ocean moves us, surfing a wave or savoring the view. The ocean delights us as playful otters restore coastal cow porous. The ocean connects us. Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium.org slash connects. This is the way I heard it. Donnie had a secrets, and it was a doozy. The year was 1975, and the 43-year-old Marine sat alone in the darkened theater, weeping quietly as he watched his favorite scene from his,

favorite movie unfold on the big screen. For 25 years, Major Dunnigan had managed to keep his fellow Marines in the dark, but now his secret was in jeopardy because Disney had just re-released Bambi. If you're not up to speed with 65-year-old timeless classics, Bambi is the animated story of a young fawn who comes face-to-face with great adversity growing up in the forest. In the movie's pivotal scene, Bambi's mother is shot dead by a a hunter. Shocked and paralyzed with grief, Bambi collapses in a heap of inconsolable loss.

There, he would have likely remained, but for his father, the prince of the forest, who towered above the young fawn and spoke the words that his grieving son needed to hear, get up, Bambi, you must get up. Now, Donnie probably wasn't the first grown man to weep at the trials and tribulations of a talking deer, but he was certainly the most unlikely. 25 years ago, straight out of boot camp, Donnie became the youngest real sergeant in the history of the Corps. His unique ability to turn boys into men and men into Marines was simply unmatched. But Donnie was more than a tough teacher. He was also a tough soldier.

In Vietnam, under withering fire, Donny ran into an enemy position to retrieve a wounded radio man. He was awarded the Bronze Star. During another battle, Donnie pulled a dead Vietnam. at Kong's soldier out of the mud only to learn the enemy was far from dead a hidden bandette plunged deep into Donnie's gut he received the purple heart for that one it wouldn't be his last it was donnie's personal toughness that inspired frightened men to follow him straight through the gates of hell and in 1968 those gates were opened wide the ted offensive was launched with terrible fury and Donnie was right in the thick of it. The fighting was fierce and hand to hand. Donnie gave as good as he got,

and what he got was all sorts of agony. A bullet hole in his left knee. Another one in the head. Another one in the scrotum. Could it get much worse? Sure. It can always get worse. A grenade landed nearby. Shrapnel in the belly. A mortar exploded overhead, more shrapnel, this time in his stomach and lungs. Donnie lay on the ground, racked with unimaginable pain, and came to terms with what was surely the end of his life, but his mind was not yet done with his shattered body. It was then that Donnie recalled the words, burned into his memory as a child.

Get up, Bambi. You must get up. And just like that, the 33-year-old Marine got up, not because he was inspired by Bambi. No, Donnie got up because he was Bambi. You see, long before he became one of the toughest warriors in the Marine Corps, little Donnie Dundigan provided the voice and face for the most famous fawn in cinematic history. That was Donny's secret. And now, whenever he watched Bambi struggling to get up on the big screen,

he didn't see an animated fawn struggling with grief, he saw himself struggling to survive. And when he heard the words of his animated father, he wasn't hearing lines from a screenplay. He was hearing the advice that would ultimately save his life. Get up, Bambi. You must get up. Donnie spent 25 years in the Marine Corps, earned 13 promotions, three Purple Hearts, a bronze star, and retired with the rank of major. and somehow, during all those years, he kept his childhood claim to fame a secret. But now, the cat was out of the bag. Because sitting there in the darkened theater back in 1975, Donnie realized this new version of Disney's timeless masterpiece

contained something the original didn't have. Credits. When Major Dunnigan saw his real name up there on the big screen, he knew the teasing would be merciless. and he was right. But happily, the 81-year-old Marine has since embraced the secret of his youth. And today, Donnie Donegan is delighted to hear the two words wherever he goes.

The same two words he once dreaded back when he wore the uniform. Major Bambi. Anyway, that's the way I heard it. If you work in University Maintenance, Granger considers you an MVP. Because your playbook ensures your arena is always ready for tip-off. And Granger is your trusted partner.

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