In its mission to take history out of the textbooks by honoring local veterans, the Hampton Bays School District paid tribute to Don Veeck during an annual fourth grade Veterans Day ceremony on Nov. 7. The students both celebrated Veterans Day and honored Veeck, who is being recognized at the school by having an American flag flown in his honor throughout November. Veeck is the 83rd veteran to be honored by the district since 2011.
As part of the ceremony, held at Hampton Bays Elementary School, fourth grade students read Veeck’s biography, spoke about the importance of Veterans Day and sang patriotic songs. Also in attendance were local officials.
Veeck graduated from Southampton High School in 1965, where he played football and ran track. After high school, he attended the Rochester Institute of Technology and received an associate’s degree in food science technology and a bachelor’s degree in food administration, graduating in 1969.
In April 1970, he joined the Navy to “see the world” and began at the Great Lakes Training Facility. Because of his educational background, the Navy enlisted him as an E-3 instead of a basic enlistee. These extra responsibilities made him a master-at-arms. He did well in basic and graduated as the honor graduate of Company 172. He requested advanced training in navigation, but the Navy decided to use his education and sent him to a class “A” school in San Diego for 10 weeks of food service training. He graduated with the highest scores and attained the position of class petty officer.
His next assignment was to Newport, Rhode Island, on a frigate-class guided missile destroyer, the USS Dewey. The Dewey was in the Philadelphia Naval Yard being upgraded with new weapons and propulsion systems, so Veeck had shoreside duty until the ship had its sea trials and was recommissioned in May 1971. This sea duty kept him in the Atlantic Ocean with stops in Puerto Rico and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In 1972, orders came for the ship to report to the “Med” (Mediterranean Voluntary Reporting Scheme) for anti-submarine activity hunting for Russian subs. While en route, orders were changed, and he escorted the carrier USS Americas from the Atlantic to the western Pacific via the Cape of Good Hope, with no transit through the Panama Canal – the Navy had ordered that he take “the long way.”
Western Pacific operations meant Vietnam. The destroyer’s assignments included shielding U.S. carriers, fire support for Army and Marine land operations, and recovering downed U.S. pilots from the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea. During this 137-day deployment, the ship was given credit for shooting down a North Vietnamese MIG trying to attack a carrier.
Promoted to E-4, Veeck was responsible for food service recordkeeping and was the boat deck combat watcher. In the fall of 1972, the ship was reassigned to the Indian Ocean with a stop in Singapore, where Veeck was able to find turkeys for the crew to celebrate Thanksgiving. The ship’s next orders were to the Persian Gulf to participate in naval exercises with the countries of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.
Not going home yet, orders sent the Dewey to Kenya, Brazil, Trinidad and Port-au-Spain. Next stop was Puerto Rico and finally back to Rhode Island in December 1972. In 1973, after training in new anti-submarine warfare, new orders sent the Dewey to the “Med” again, escorting a U.S. carrier. There, the Dewey intercepted Russian submarines in the Strait of Gibraltar and forced the subs to leave the area. The tour included stops in Greece and Spain.
During that time, the Yom Kippur War began, and the Dewey was sent to Israel, where the Russian Navy had 70 ships available to support Egypt. In January 1974, the ship returned to Rhode Island, and in April, Veeck was promoted to E-5 before his honorable discharge from the Navy. His honors included the National Defense Medal, Vietnam medals and the Good Conduct Medal.
Veeck returned home, where he worked as the associate chef at the famous John Ducks restaurant for 20 years. He now runs his own property management and landscaping business. He has been married for 31 years and has four children and three grandchildren. He is an active member of the Hampton Bays Methodist Church and the sergeant-at-arms in the Hampton Bays American Legion.
To read Veeck’s full bio, click here to visit link.