Donald A. Girouard was raised in southern Louisiana. His family’s spread out between there and Arkansas. His father was a truck driver, so he moved from place to place as a kid. He did wind up going to high school in Alexandria, joining the United States Marine Corps following his graduation in 1968. Boot camp for him was only eight weeks long, instead of 12, because the nation was in need of as many soldiers as possible to serve in Vietnam.
Girouard finished his first stage of military training in the summer of ’68. From there he completed Advanced Infantry Training (AIT), then moved on to entering the rank of a battalion, but never trained with a unit. At the time, servicemen were deployed individually. He served in Vietnam from January to December of 1969.
Due to the uncertainties and obligations of military service overseas, especially in a country as formerly war-torn as Vietnam, Girouard saw the terrors of combat immediately. Explosions happened frequently, and no soldier, including himself, ever knew what awaited them on the battlefield. He drove a jeep between points of interest, like Landing Zone Baldy and Da Nang, often seeing before him other vehicles get blown up. Once he was wounded.
“You never knew whether you were going to be shot at or hit a booby trap. It was a terrifying thing,” Girouard said. “You prayed to the Lord to keep you healthy. I was wounded, but I was just lucky. I came home and got to see my wife.”
After he returned to the United States, Girouard continued on as a Marine. He ended up getting stationed at Naval Station Great Lakes near North Chicago, Illinois. Throughout the three years he was there, he spent most of his time working around the brig, where naval sailors were placed for disciplinary reasons or the like. Serving at home certainly came with its challenges, however, the accompanying pain of them lasting even today.
“It wasn’t pleasant to be on active duty in those days. You were spit upon, and you had things thrown at you. It was very demoralizing,” he said. “55 years later, it lingers. That hurt in the heart of Vietnam veterans is still there.”
Despite its difficulties, Girouard reenlisted himself for six more years after his three years in the Chicagoland area, kickstarting a career in the military. He was transferred to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, spending 13 years there. He was in corrections for a while. Realizing that that wasn’t for him, he went into ammunitions where he received, stored, and issued them to units. Eventually he went through Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, or EOD. He retired in 1993.
Girouard traveled widely after retirement, though not for leisurely purposes. Until 2015, he worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He’d go to abandoned military ranges and old ammunition plants built and used during World War II. The companies he was contracted under repurposed those obsolete facilities/ Their employees, like him, went in to neutralize outdated explosives, known as unexploded ordnances, or UXOs, left over to reduce the risk of hazards.
A lifetime member of the 102nd chapter of Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in Valparaiso, Girouard is passionate about the measures taken toward providing veterans with similar stories to his with the utmost care, respect, and assistance. He attends the organizational meetings scheduled on the first Friday of every month.
“We’re all veterans, and we’re here to bring in others to help them get any kind of disability compensation from the government for the injuries they might’ve sustained during their time serving,” he said. “We have service officers that go out of their way to make sure veterans are taken care of. We’ll be there until every veteran that comes in is seen and their claims are handled.”
Girouard resides in the Region because of his wife’s connection to the area in Morgan Township. They worship together at Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton. They make use of their travel trailer, getting on the road to experience the wonders of different portions of the country and its many campgrounds. They’ve been united since their marriage, especially now as his wife undergoes cancer treatments.
Girouard has seven grandchildren. Three live nearby, while four are located in Houston, Texas. He spends his leisure time visiting them whenever he can. He’ll go out to do metal-detecting at sites when the opportunity presents itself. In all reality, he’s currently living steadily as a citizen of the country he valiantly fought to protect.
“In fact, I’m a quiet person, and I don’t go out of the way a lot. We have a 15-month-old golden retriever, and she’s almost like our newest grandchild. She keeps us occupied,” he said. “We’re homebodies. We enjoy our neighbors around us.”