HomeMy WebLinkAboutDon Dillon, Brazos Valley HeroesBy Bill Yoe
Special to The Eagle
Don Dillon considers himself to be a lucky fellow.
As he puts it: "I have been very fortunate wherever
I've been during my life, including my time in Warld
War II. But I'm particularly fortunate to have moved
to Brazos County and to be accepted by the people in
this community."
Hisjourney began in 1921 on afarm near Oskaloosa,
Iowa. "I was born on our farm and was told I began
life as a big baby. That is one characteristic that I have
had all my life -big." Big enough to be a football star
in high school and college.
"My dad worked for the Des Moines Register &
Tribune and we moved to Des Moines for high school.
I and my brothers all played football for Roosevelt High
and later for Drake University there in Des Moines. I
graduated from high school in 1938 and enrolled at
Drake.
"I took a year off from football to recover from a
broken leg and to get stronger. My first two years at
Drake were innon-law, but the last three years I spent
in law school. I played football for Drake my last four
years there. My last year, 1942-43, I had volunteered
for the Army but was allowed to finish my law degree.
I was married with a child and another on the way
when I left for the service."
Dillon also received the award for the highest
academic standing by a graduating athlete his last
year at Drake. Pretty impressive when you consider
he was in law school, playing football, working in his
spare time and raising a family, all at the same time.
Dillon was sent to Seymour Johnson Field in North
Carolina for basic training and officer training. He
was commissioned as a second lieutenant. From
there he was sent to Yale to study communications
codes and other material that required atop-secret
classification.
"When we completed Yale and received our top-
secret clearance, we received orders to ship out to
England. We went over on an old English ship, and
it was the roughest trip I've ever taken. As an officer
you had guard detail duty but I was the only one able
to stand. There were a bunch of sick soldiers on that
ship.
"We landed and were sent to London during the
middle of the German blitz. They were bombarding
London daily with rockefs. If you couldn't make it to a
ons about
our aircraft operations were sent, received and secure.
When General Eisenhower moved his headquarters to
Rheems, we moved with him. We were in a building
next to a crashed German fighter plane, which was
a constant reminder that we were handling all of
General Eisenhower's flights in and out of Rheems.
"When the war moved, so did we. We were moving
to Belgium when the Battle of the Bulge started. We
were all now carrying guns, primarily because of
infiltration of Germans in American uniforms. We set
up at Namur, Belgium. Because of the equipment we
had to erect, it was pretty obvious what we were.
On more than one occasion we had German planes
penetrate our anti-aircraft batteries.
"When that happened, all we had to defend with
were rifles and my .45-caliber pistol. We knew we
couldn't do much damage, but there we were with
rifles and pistols in hand firing away. Fortunately,
they didn't damage us and I doubt we ever damaged
them.
"While in Belgium we had to dismantle the German
system they had left behind, which required cutting
down the poles that were strung with their wire. We
cut the poles, but they wouldn't fall until I pulled and
pushed at one. When that one started to fall they all
fell, burying me in the mud. It dislocated my knee and
I was sent to a hospital. I was told I could go home, but
I asked to stay because the war wasn't over yet. That
knee continued to give me problems until Dr. Bramhall
fixed it a few years ago.
"When the war ended, we had a big celebration
and I finally got my orders to come home. The orders
didn't specify how I was to get home, just that I could
go. I had one of my guys drive me to Paris, where
I eventually caught a flight home. I walked into rfVy
home~without anyone knowing I was coming, but they.
were glad to see me."
It was then that Dillon was able to meet his second
daughter for the first time.
Dillon began to practice law in Mercedes, Texas. He
moved to Bryan in the early 60's, where he practiced
law with the firm of Dillon, Giesenschlag and Sharp
and owned and operated Brazos County Abstract
Company until his retirement.
"I have been fortunate, but especially when I moved
to this community."
Don Dillon s name can be found on the Brazos
galley Veterans Memorial. Far more information, to