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Don served our country in the United States Navy during WWII, but didn't join until late in the war. He was working as a carpenter at the Army Air Corps base at Middletown, Pennsylvania when he was drafted. He was stationed at San Francisco during WWII, and at Norfolk, Virginia, during the Korean War. He once mentioned that he broke a fellow sailor's rib during a boxing match. He also did some shore patrol duty, and fashioned a night-stick from a piece of aircraft carrier decking.

During the Korean War, Don received two letters from ‘Uncle Sam’ on the same day. The first letter informed him that he could either reenlist or be drafted back in to the Navy. The second letter contained his orders to report to active duty at Norfolk, Virginia. He served there as an aircraft mechanic.