Saluting our Veterans: Stephen “Hugh” Donavon

Stephen “Hugh” Donavon of Clarksville was drafted into the U.S. Army on Jan. 12, 1967.
     “Everyone was going. That was the way it was. You knew when you were out of school you would be drafted. It was no surprise,” wife Nancy Donavon said.
     In 1967, Hugh was 19. Nancy, then his girlfriend, was 16. They knew each other from school, and Hugh had worked for her father baling hay. After graduating from Clarksville High School, he had applied at a couple factories, but wasn’t hired because he had a 1A designation and could be drafted at any time. The only job he could find in the interim was working road construction.
     After his draft notice came, Donavon got on the bus in Allison and was taken to Des Moines for processing. From there, he was sent to Ft. Bliss, Texas for basic training. His work in road construction—and many hours of practice on the football team and baling hay paid off.
 
Read more in the November 29 edition of the STAR.
 
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