June 5, 2025 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, listener and regular contributor Joy Neal Kidney, from Des Moines, Iowa, shares the war story of her uncle, Donald Wilson.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including your story. Send them to our American Stories dot com.
There's some of our favorites. And today we have one
of our regular contributors, Joynil Kidney, and she's about to
share her uncle's story. This piece is titled Donald Wilson,
(00:33):
The Humble Hero.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Most of the heroes among us are just ordinary people,
like my uncle Don. I knew him as Mom's brother
who lived way out in Washington State and who liked fishing.
When I was a kid growing up on an Iowa farm,
the best part of getting a fat letter from Aunt
Rose was a picture of Uncle Don with a big salmon.
(00:59):
Mom's older had been a commercial fisherman. Even when he
later took a job with the Washington Department of Transportation,
he still headed out with his boat on willop A
Bay every chance he got, so every fishing season we
get snapshots of him with a huge fish hanging from
one hand and a fishing pole in the other, dressed
(01:21):
in faded jeans and a plaid shirt, usually a vest
with lots of pockets, sometimes a US Navy cap, either
the USS Hancock or the Yorktown. Although Mom rarely mentioned
the war World War two, she told us that her
brother Don, who grew up in the small town of Dexter, Iowa,
(01:44):
had been a sailor on the famous Yorktown, the one
lost during a big battle in the Pacific Ocean, and
that he had had to tread water for an hour
before being rescued. Every few years Uncle Don and at
Rose would drive back to Iowa to visit. I was
unaware of all the other combat he'd survived, all the
(02:06):
heartache he'd been through, all the complexity of this seemingly
ordinary man. As teenagers, Cis, Gloria and I traveled by
train with Grandma to the West Coast to visit relatives,
including Don and Rose. In nineteen sixty two. They lived
in a little house out along the Nasall River. As
(02:28):
soon as they learned we were coming, Uncle Don added
a room to their home, an indoor bathroom. Since Aunt
Rose didn't drive, they had only a pick up. One
foggy day, we joined a crowd of clam diggers and
carried our limit home to try freed clams and to
make clam chowder. Digging them was more fun than eating them.
(02:52):
For farm girls used to Iowa beef and pork. Years later,
I learned that not only had Uncle de On ben
on the historic yorktown during the Battle of Midway, but
that he'd had to abandon ship twice. He spent an
hour in the oily Pacific after Japanese bombs had crippled
the ship. The next day, the aircraft carrier was listing
(03:18):
dead in the water but still afloat. A few dozen
men reboarded the battered ship for a salvage attempt. One
of them was twenty five year old Donald Wilson. After
doing repairs all morning on a lower level of the ship,
he clambered up to the deck for something to eat,
(03:39):
and alarm blared. Dawn jumped up and saw torpedoes in
the water speeding right at his ship. One slammed into them.
He ran to the fantail and leaped a second time.
A nearby ship rescued him and other survivors. The next morning,
(03:59):
sailor asleep on the deck were nudged awake as the
carrier began to sink, her battle flags still flying. Many
of them wept as they stood at attention to witness
their ship roll over and plunge into the ocean. Don
Wilson first joined the Navy with his older brother in
(04:20):
nineteen thirty four, during the Great Depression, where there were
no jobs for teenagers, not even for their father. Don
stayed in the Navy and in nineteen thirty seven became
a plank owner on the brand New Yorktown, meaning he
was a member of the crew when it was placed
(04:42):
in commission. I served on her her whole life, Don
later wrote of the ship. He later received a citation
signed by Admiral Chester Nimitz for being part of that
savage attempt. I'd written to Uncle Don in Aunt Rose
for decades, but after Grandma died and getting to read
(05:05):
the family's war letters, I started a correspondence with Uncle
Jahn that lasted the rest of his life. I wanted
to make sure he had all the medals he was
entitled to. He said it in wantiny that he was
no hero and wasn't interested in medals, that is until
(05:25):
I learned there was one for that citation. When he
finally received it, he proudly framed all of his medals
and ribbons. Uncle Don was also a plank owner on
the USS Hancock, another aircraft carrier, the Hancock, was in
combat in nearly every major naval battle during those last
(05:51):
desperate months of the Pacific War, except when out of
her action for repairs after being attacked by a comical
All five Wilson brothers of Dallas County, Iowa served in
World War Two. The three youngest, Dale, Danny, and Junior
lost their lives, two of them in combat. Their surviving
(06:15):
family members never got over the blows of losing these
three young pilots, including their older brother Don, still in
the Navy after the war, he decided he didn't want
to make it a career. After all. He was ready
for some peace and quiet and a fishing pole. No
(06:35):
one would suspect that the ordinary man in the snapshots
with the big Fish was indeed a hero, one with
a poignant.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
History and a special thanks to joy Neil Kidney for
sharing that story. And again, if you have stories about
heroes who fought for and defended and served this great country,
send the story to our American Stories dot com. We'd
love to hear from you, and they are our favorites.
(07:06):
The story of Uncle Don here on our American Stories.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
If you love the stories we tell about this great
country and especially the stories of America's rich past. Know
that all of our stories about American history, from war
to innovation, culture, and faith, are brought to us by
the great folks at Hillsdale College, a place where students
study all the things that are beautiful in life and
all the things that are good in life. And if
you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you
(07:53):
with their free and terrific online courses. Go to Hillsdale
dot edu to learn more.
This is Lee Habib and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
including your story. Send them to our American Stories dot com.
There's some of our favorites. And today we have one
of our regular contributors, Joynil Kidney, and she's about to
share her uncle's story. This piece is titled Donald Wilson,
(00:33):
The Humble Hero.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Most of the heroes among us are just ordinary people,
like my uncle Don. I knew him as Mom's brother
who lived way out in Washington State and who liked fishing.
When I was a kid growing up on an Iowa farm,
the best part of getting a fat letter from Aunt
Rose was a picture of Uncle Don with a big salmon.
(00:59):
Mom's older had been a commercial fisherman. Even when he
later took a job with the Washington Department of Transportation,
he still headed out with his boat on willop A
Bay every chance he got, so every fishing season we
get snapshots of him with a huge fish hanging from
one hand and a fishing pole in the other, dressed
(01:21):
in faded jeans and a plaid shirt, usually a vest
with lots of pockets, sometimes a US Navy cap, either
the USS Hancock or the Yorktown. Although Mom rarely mentioned
the war World War two, she told us that her
brother Don, who grew up in the small town of Dexter, Iowa,
(01:44):
had been a sailor on the famous Yorktown, the one
lost during a big battle in the Pacific Ocean, and
that he had had to tread water for an hour
before being rescued. Every few years Uncle Don and at
Rose would drive back to Iowa to visit. I was
unaware of all the other combat he'd survived, all the
(02:06):
heartache he'd been through, all the complexity of this seemingly
ordinary man. As teenagers, Cis, Gloria and I traveled by
train with Grandma to the West Coast to visit relatives,
including Don and Rose. In nineteen sixty two. They lived
in a little house out along the Nasall River. As
(02:28):
soon as they learned we were coming, Uncle Don added
a room to their home, an indoor bathroom. Since Aunt
Rose didn't drive, they had only a pick up. One
foggy day, we joined a crowd of clam diggers and
carried our limit home to try freed clams and to
make clam chowder. Digging them was more fun than eating them.
(02:52):
For farm girls used to Iowa beef and pork. Years later,
I learned that not only had Uncle de On ben
on the historic yorktown during the Battle of Midway, but
that he'd had to abandon ship twice. He spent an
hour in the oily Pacific after Japanese bombs had crippled
the ship. The next day, the aircraft carrier was listing
(03:18):
dead in the water but still afloat. A few dozen
men reboarded the battered ship for a salvage attempt. One
of them was twenty five year old Donald Wilson. After
doing repairs all morning on a lower level of the ship,
he clambered up to the deck for something to eat,
(03:39):
and alarm blared. Dawn jumped up and saw torpedoes in
the water speeding right at his ship. One slammed into them.
He ran to the fantail and leaped a second time.
A nearby ship rescued him and other survivors. The next morning,
(03:59):
sailor asleep on the deck were nudged awake as the
carrier began to sink, her battle flags still flying. Many
of them wept as they stood at attention to witness
their ship roll over and plunge into the ocean. Don
Wilson first joined the Navy with his older brother in
(04:20):
nineteen thirty four, during the Great Depression, where there were
no jobs for teenagers, not even for their father. Don
stayed in the Navy and in nineteen thirty seven became
a plank owner on the brand New Yorktown, meaning he
was a member of the crew when it was placed
(04:42):
in commission. I served on her her whole life, Don
later wrote of the ship. He later received a citation
signed by Admiral Chester Nimitz for being part of that
savage attempt. I'd written to Uncle Don in Aunt Rose
for decades, but after Grandma died and getting to read
(05:05):
the family's war letters, I started a correspondence with Uncle
Jahn that lasted the rest of his life. I wanted
to make sure he had all the medals he was
entitled to. He said it in wantiny that he was
no hero and wasn't interested in medals, that is until
(05:25):
I learned there was one for that citation. When he
finally received it, he proudly framed all of his medals
and ribbons. Uncle Don was also a plank owner on
the USS Hancock, another aircraft carrier, the Hancock, was in
combat in nearly every major naval battle during those last
(05:51):
desperate months of the Pacific War, except when out of
her action for repairs after being attacked by a comical
All five Wilson brothers of Dallas County, Iowa served in
World War Two. The three youngest, Dale, Danny, and Junior
lost their lives, two of them in combat. Their surviving
(06:15):
family members never got over the blows of losing these
three young pilots, including their older brother Don, still in
the Navy after the war, he decided he didn't want
to make it a career. After all. He was ready
for some peace and quiet and a fishing pole. No
(06:35):
one would suspect that the ordinary man in the snapshots
with the big Fish was indeed a hero, one with
a poignant.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
History and a special thanks to joy Neil Kidney for
sharing that story. And again, if you have stories about
heroes who fought for and defended and served this great country,
send the story to our American Stories dot com. We'd
love to hear from you, and they are our favorites.
(07:06):
The story of Uncle Don here on our American Stories.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Folks.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
If you love the stories we tell about this great
country and especially the stories of America's rich past. Know
that all of our stories about American history, from war
to innovation, culture, and faith, are brought to us by
the great folks at Hillsdale College, a place where students
study all the things that are beautiful in life and
all the things that are good in life. And if
you can't get to Hillsdale, Hillsdale will come to you
(07:53):
with their free and terrific online courses. Go to Hillsdale
dot edu to learn more.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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