Saturday, September 10, 2005

Visit with Don Malarkey

Yesterday, I had the priveledge and honor to visit with Mr. Don Malarkey (of Band of Brothers fame) at his home in Salem, Oregon.

I became aware of Don living in Salem after an article was published in the Corvallis Gazette Times about him. Two years ago, when I had my second hernia surgery, I purchased and watched the entire Band of Brothers series. I have always been a World War II movie fan, and I found this to be one of the very best re-enactments that I'd ever seen (next to Saving Private Ryan).

I wrote to Mr. Malarkey back in May of 2005, and received a very nice reply from him, inviting me to visit sometime. So I called about 2 weeks ago and made an appointment with his wife to visit yesterday.

I drove to Salem and met him at his home at 1:00pm. Don met me at the door and welcomed me into his modest home of 30 years. I sat on a couch opposite to him and listened as he recounted some of his stories to me. Don started out by telling me that he has a friend in Lousiana who wrote him recently and told him that much of the news coming out of the south about Hurricane Katrina is not true, and is an attempt to discredit the Bush administration.

Don then told me of a story when he was 12 years old about a huge fire on the Oregon coast. He was taken and required to help fight the fire by carrying buckets of water to the firefighters. Fifteen years later, the owner of a farm that was saved by his efforts came to thank him for all he had done. Don was a hero at a very young age. His comment to me about the fire and the war was "I did what had to be done."

It was a tremendous honor to meet and talk with Don Malarkey; one that I will never forget.

23 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I would very much like to write a letter of appreciation to Mr. Malarkey. Would you be able to share his mailing address? Thank you.

Greg Wheeler
glaghls5@embarqmail.com

September 14, 2008 at 9:11 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I too would like to say thank you to Mr. Malarkey, as well as all the Men of Easy Company. I have also seen the series Band of Brothers, and i have to say it is what keeps me going. I am currently serving in my 17th year in the Military, and it is because of these men I continue to serve, and fight as hard as I do. I have been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq on several occasions, and I have to say that fighting the way I and my men do is because of the heritage these Men bestowed upon us. These Men are all heros. People tell me and my men we are heross and I remind them that we are not heros at all. The real heros are the Men of Easy Company and all the Men that fought in WWI, and WWII. These Heros paved the way for our warriors of today. The only regret that I have is that I have yet to meet any of these great Warriors. I respect their wishes to be left in peace, they certainly deserve it. If I ever did have the chance to meet these heros, I can honestly say I would be at a loss of words (probably a 1st for me) but they are what drives me to be the very best that I am today in todays Army. Nothing like what they were, but I strive to be the very best because of them. I appreciate everything they did for our Country, as well as each other, and every single person in the free country should say thank you to these great warriors, because of them you have the freedoms you so much enjoy today, and it's because of them our Armed Forces continue to fight their hearts out to continue that tradition. If you are reading this, and have yet to post a thank you to these great warriors, then take the time to say thank you, and let us not forget, nor shall we ever forget the ones that never made it home. The other warriors who gave their lives for their Brothers, as well as their Country, may they rest in eternal peace!!

Yours in the fight
SFC Michael E Harper
FT. Carson, Colorado
"Kill the enemy"

January 5, 2009 at 3:57 PM  
Anonymous Jamie said...

Would you mind passing me Mr. Malarkey's contact information as well? I'm visiting the area in July and would love to contact him with the possibility of meeting him myself. My grandfather was in the Army during WWII, and one of my uncles was KIA in Korea. Unfortunately we don't give our veterans enough thanks and/or credit in today's world, and it's a shame. Any assistance you could help me with would be greatly appreciated.

Jamie

May 11, 2009 at 6:22 PM  
Blogger Doug said...

Jamie,

I have no authority to give out Mr. Malarkey's home information. I will tell you that if you google his name in Oregon, you will find him.

doug

May 11, 2009 at 8:35 PM  
Anonymous Sonny Garcia said...

Greg,

I came across your blog. Thanks for sharing the story of meeting Don Malarkey. I am reading his book now. I have watched the series many times and enjoyed it immensely. Actually I am about 45 minutes south of Dick Winter's home. He has a small museum in Hershey, PA. But the curator tells me Major Winters doesnt visit anymore due to his age and remains at home in the care of his wife now a days. It is sad their story didnt come out earlier so we could have cherished these heros more in their younger years.

Anyhow, I wanted to send a letter to Don Malarkey. Any chance you could send me a mailing address or if you dont feel comfortable, could I send the letter to you and some extra stamps and you forward it on? Just wondering. Thank you.

Sonny Garcia

sonny.garcia@yahoo.com

August 14, 2010 at 6:46 PM  
Blogger Terry's Musings and Art said...

Doug,
I too would TSGT Malarkey's info if you are able to pass it on.
Thanks,
MAJ Terry LaFrance
Public Affairs Officer
OKARNG
Camp Gruber Maneuver Training Center
Braggs, Oklahoma.
405-245-6738
terry.m.lafrance@us.army.mil

March 13, 2011 at 1:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, I'm love to get Donald Malarkey's mail address as I would like to send him a letter of appreciation. He is one of my heroes and one of the only remaining real people portrayed in the Band Of Brothers TV series.

Thanks
Cait
Australia
meredithgirl@hotmail.com

April 25, 2011 at 2:50 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi doug, I would also love to send Donald Malarkey a letter, if there is any way you could possibly share his address of if I could send you the letter then you forward it to him, I would greatly appreciate it.

Gina

ohginak@hotmail.com

June 30, 2011 at 11:17 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You are fortunate to have had the honor to meet Don Malarkey.
I went on a Band of Brother's Tour in May of 2006, and specifically chose that tour because Don was supposed to be the Band of Brother's veteran on the trip. As the only person on the tour from Oregon, I was very excited to meet him (the only other fellow Oregonian).
Unfortunately, due to personal reasons, he was unable to attend, so he was replaced by Frank Perconte.
Frank and I sat together on the tour bus the entire tour and I even co-hosted his 90th birthday party with another person I met on the tour.
I still have never met Don, and I live in Portland.

Thank you for sharing on your blog ~

Sincerely,

Molly A. Cook

December 13, 2011 at 10:53 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hey Doug could you send me the address to write tech Sgt malarky? Email me at 1stcavalry1965@gmail.com

August 3, 2013 at 8:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello Doug,

You wrote a lovely piece and are so lucky to have met with Don Malarkey. I know others have asked, but is there a way to get his mailing address from you, in order to write him a letter. My grandfather served in WW2 so I love learning about it, and am a huge advocate for supporting our troops. I would love to thank Mr.Malarkey and write to him if you could help me at all with that.

Thank you,
D

June 12, 2014 at 2:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello,

I just left an anonymous comment above and forgot to attach an email.

Devonrose@aol.com

Thank you :)

June 12, 2014 at 2:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm 16 and from a very small town, but ever since I was young i've loved hearing the courageous story of Easy company, if at all possible please send his mail address/email to allyssasorrells97@gmail.com

June 24, 2014 at 2:52 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am a veteran in Colorado and would be interested in reaching out to him via mail or email. If you could send me his address at eastland.calrob@gmail.com.

Best,

Brandon

November 30, 2015 at 6:58 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello,
I am a huge fan of Donald Malarkey and very much appreciate your story and experience of meeting this amazing and courageous man. I know you experienced this several years ago, but I am very interested in writing him and possibly meeting him. I know many people are asking you but do you know how I can contact him via e-mail or mail?

Any assistance you can give me would be much appreciated.

Warm Regards,
Jayme-Lee

December 9, 2015 at 3:53 PM  
Blogger Wsciekly1 said...

you can talk a lot .... what? everything we have in the hearts. expressions greatest respect for you and your friends ... Polish soldier

March 28, 2016 at 2:26 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Hello, I as well would love to send a letter of appreciation to Donald Malarkey. If you could send his mailing information to paperman1945i@gmail.com it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

April 29, 2016 at 5:14 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Doug, I would like to thank you for making this page available. I would love to talk to Donald, but know that he probably has much on his plate. After the life that he has lived, Id rather he be left in peace. I'm sure he could understand the connection that most of us veterans have with him. The ability to stand next to a man such as him is an honor to all of us....and Id hope that he knows that. Again, thank you for your writings and this page. I appreciate it.

May 30, 2016 at 11:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just want to thank you for your service. I can't begin to understand what you did to keep us safe. We owe you and your band of brothers our very freedom. You are truly one of our nations heroes. Thank you






September 13, 2016 at 9:17 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Good Afternoon Doug, I am currently an active duty Sgt in the United States Marine Corps, but will soon be a veteran when I discharge here shortly. I first read Band of Brothers many years ago, and have owned the series ever since. I actually know the nephew of Stephen Ambrose. Anyway I will be traveling the country soon, and would very much like to have the honor to meet Mr. Malarkey as he is someone I have long held in admiration and respect, along with all of his Band of Brothers. I understand my request may be trivial as compared to what he deals with daily, but it would be a great honor and privilege. If you could share any information to help me contact him or write him a letter I would be most appreciative. You can email me at kelleyet@yahoo.com

Thank you sincerely,

Sgt Kelley
USMC

January 6, 2017 at 12:28 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

July 9, 2017 at 11:51 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

I had messed up on my previous comment, I am sorry

Hello, my name is Parker Ness I am an active member of the Air Force auxiliary and am considering joining the USAF and becoming a pilot. I would like to write to Mr. Malarkey and send my regards and appreciation.
you can email me at parkerjness@gmail.com I would very much appreciate this opportunity to write to someone who served time in the Second World War, and is also a member of the 101st airborne.

Thank you
Cadet Airman 1st Class Ness

July 9, 2017 at 11:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I just started to rewatch Band of Brothers and it moved me to tears again. I cannot find words to express how thankful I am that there were brave young men such as Don Malarkey who made life, as we know it today, possible. As it sems like he is the only member who is still alive, I would love to tell him as a representative for all soldiers that they have been true heroes.
I am 20 years and from Austria and I am endlessly grateful that people like Mr. Malarkey helped my nation to become what is today. Not only my life but the lives of everyone I know have been better ones because these men freed Austria from the Nazis. I really appreciate everything you have done, not only for my country but for the world.

I would be grateful if anyone has a way to forward this message to Mr. Malakey or find another way to show him my respect and appreciation.
bm592152@yahoo.com

August 21, 2017 at 11:31 AM  

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