Meet The Marine Who Was Disney's Famous Fawn

RallyPoint Shared Content — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:11:08 -0400

From: NPR

Donnie Dunagan is a hard-nosed Marine, a highly decorated veteran of the Vietnam War who served for a quarter-century. First drafted in the '50s and subsequently promoted 13 times in 21 years — a Corps record at the time, he recalls — Dunagan found the Marines a perfect fit. That is, so long as he could keep a secret.

A dark reminder of the past Dunagan left behind still lurked unspoken: He was Bambi.

As a kid, Dunagan did a brief stint as a child actor, and he was tapped by Walt Disney to be the voice of the lead in the 1942 Bambi, the now-classic animated film about a young deer learning about life in the forest. And not one of his fellow Marines knew.

"No chance!" Dunagan, now 80, tells his wife, Dana, on a recent visit with StoryCorps in San Angelo, Texas. "I never said a word to anybody about Bambi, even to you. When we first met I never said a word about it. Most of the image in people's minds of Bambi was a little frail deer, not doing very well, sliding around on the ice on his belly."

Now, imagine the man who was once Bambi as a commander in a Marine Corps boot camp, responsible for hundreds of recruits. Dunagan didn't want his recruits drawing any connections, mocking him or calling him "Major Bambi." So, he kept his mouth shut.

Of course, it got out eventually. Decades later, a Marine who Dunagan had worked for several times, twice in combat, called him into his office in the early morning about a month before the two of them retired.

"I go in his office and he says, 'Dunagan! I want you to audit the auditors,' " Dunagan recalls. Swamped with other duties, Dunagan respectfully asked him: "General, when do you think I'm going to have time to do that?"

And, finally, the nightmare he'd harbored for years came true.

"He looked at me, pulled his glasses down like some kind of college professor. There's a big, red, top-secret folder that he got out of some safe somewhere that had my name on it. He pats this folder, looks me in the eye and says, 'You will audit the auditors. Won't you, Major Bambi?' "

When Dana asks him how his life is different from the way he might have imagined, Dunagan points out that all the wounds he suffered in service, all the honors he's earned along the way, still haven't changed a thing.

"I have some holes in my body that God didn't put there. I got shot through my left knee. Got an award or two for saving lives over time," he says. "But I think I could have been appointed as the aide de camp in the White House, it wouldn't make any difference. It's Bambi that's so dear to people."

No matter how he tried to escape it, that voice from his past always found him.

"But I love it now — when people realize, 'This old jerk, he's still alive and was Bambi.' And I wouldn't take anything for it, not a darn thing for it."

http://www.npr.org/2015/07/31/427821763/major-bambi-meet-the-marine-who-was-disney-s-famous-fawn

Maj. Bambi: Meet The Marine Who Was Disney's Famous Fawn

A gritty Marine, Donnie Dunagan fought in Vietnam, earned decorations for his service and retired as a major. But all his life, there was one thing he could never escape: He was the voice of Bambi.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Jul 31 at 2015 10:16 AM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:16:49 -0400

It just shows how Marines adapt and overcome! SEMPER FI!

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made Jul 31 at 2015 10:29 AM

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:29:23 -0400

Just heard it on NPR.
Outstanding!
Especially the "Top Secret File" on Major Bambi.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2015 10:46 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:46:32 -0400

That look on his face is actually kind of haunting me.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 31 at 2015 10:58 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 10:58:54 -0400

He lives on my home town that's awesome!!!!!!

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made Jul 31 at 2015 11:10 AM

Maj Chris Nelson — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 11:10:22 -0400

That is GREAT!!! Makes a person wonder how they actually found out, if he didn't tell anyone.... still, pretty cool!

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Jul 31 at 2015 12:03 PM

Sgt David G Duchesneau — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 12:03:52 -0400

He sure as hell doesn't look like a Bambi! He looks like a mean SOB who is pissed off at the world! He's got that "don't fu-k with me look" on his face!

Response by TSgt Melissa Post made Jul 31 at 2015 1:53 PM

TSgt Melissa Post — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 13:53:23 -0400

This is awesome! lol who would have thought.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jul 31 at 2015 3:12 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 15:12:48 -0400

RallyPoint Shared Content, This is a worthwhile professional topic. Good Choice. (No sarcasm, it's only fair to encourage good topics if I'm going to discourage the bad ones). Historical story about a unique career track and possible corollary topics about professionalism in treating coworkers without judgment.

Response by Sgt Spencer Sikder made Jul 31 at 2015 5:30 PM

Sgt Spencer Sikder — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 17:30:04 -0400

Disney has had many Marines who have done honorable things. Like the Marine at Disneyland who does the flag ceremony.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 6 at 2015 12:49 PM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:49:48 -0400

Imagine if Uncle Walt gave him royalties for his part in the movie...a little cash for every time it was played in theaters, made into VHS tapes then DVDs. Make retirement that much more fun wouldn't it?

Response by SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM made Sep 9 at 2019 12:06 PM

SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 12:06:39 -0400

Does he look like Bambi!