Donald George Malarkey was a non-commissioned officer with Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army during World War II.
21 Facts About Donald Malarkey
2.
Donald Malarkey was born in Astoria, Oregon, on July 31,1921, to Leo and Helen Malarkey, married in 1918.
3.
Donald Malarkey graduated from Astoria High School in 1939 and was of Irish descent.
4.
Donald Malarkey was a volunteer firefighter during the destructive Tillamook Burn forest fire, which destroyed thousands of acres of Oregon timber.
5.
Donald Malarkey was in his first semester at the University of Oregon in the fall of 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
6.
Donald Malarkey then tried the Army Air Corps, but lacked the requisite mathematics background.
7.
Donald Malarkey became a member of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.
8.
Donald Malarkey went to England in 1944 to participate in Mission Albany, the airborne landing portion of Operation Neptune, the largest amphibious invasion in history, which was the assault portion of Operation Overlord.
9.
Donald Malarkey fought for twenty-three days in Normandy, nearly eighty in the Netherlands, thirty-nine in the Battle of Bastogne in Belgium, and nearly thirty more in and around Haguenau, France, and the Ruhr Pocket in Germany.
10.
Donald Malarkey was promoted to sergeant before Operation Market Garden.
11.
Donald Malarkey, who was never seriously wounded, served more consecutive time on the front lines than any other member of Easy Company.
12.
Donald Malarkey was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, and others.
13.
Donald Malarkey returned to the University of Oregon in 1946 to complete his degree.
14.
Donald Malarkey was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.
15.
Donald Malarkey graduated in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in business.
16.
The couple lived in Astoria, Oregon, where Donald Malarkey became the sales manager for Lovell Auto Company.
17.
The family moved to Portland, Oregon, where Donald Malarkey worked as an insurance and real estate agent.
18.
In 1987, Donald Malarkey was introduced to author and University of New Orleans Professor of History Stephen Ambrose at an Easy Company reunion in New Orleans.
19.
In 1989, Donald Malarkey traveled with Ambrose and other members of Easy Company, including Richard Winters and Carwood Lipton, to various sites where they had fought in Europe.
20.
Donald Malarkey lived in Salem, Oregon, and formerly spoke extensively to high school and college students and other groups on his Easy Company experiences.
21.
Donald Malarkey traveled with the USO to Army posts and hospitals in the United States and Europe, where he met with soldiers wounded in the Iraq War.