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Donald Conroy (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 1998) was a United States Marine Corps colonel and a member of the Black Sheep Squadron during the Korean War. He was also a veteran of World War II and served two tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He is best known for being the inspiration for the character Lieutenant Colonel "Bull" Meecham in the novel The Great Santini, which was written by his son Pat Conroy.
He and his wife Peggy had seven children: Donald Patrick "Pat", Carol, Mike, Kathy, Jim, Tim, and Tom. Novelist Pat Conroy used his father as the inspiration for the fictitious character Marine Lt. Col. "Bull" Meecham in The Great Santini (spelled "Meechum" in the 1979 movie version starring Robert Duvall). Pat Conroy wrote another autobiographical book called My Losing Season, and as in The Great Santini, talks about how his father was very violent and child abuse both towards him and his siblings. (The abuse took psychological form for all the children, and was additionally physical towards the male siblings.) Pat's sister Carol was institutionalized with mental illness, his brother, Tom, developed schizophrenia (and later committed suicide at age 33), and Pat himself also attempted suicide in 1975. Pat indicated violent memories of his father haunted his every waking moment, a theme the author fictionalizes in his novel The Prince of Tides.O'Neill, Molly. - FILM: "Pat Conroy's Tale: Of Time and 'Tides'". - The New York Times. – December 22, 1991.
However, in later years, following his retirement from the Marines, Donald Conroy mended his relationships with his children. In The Pat Conroy Cookbook, Pat Conroy provides numerous stories of his close relationship with his father during adulthood. He writes that in writing The Great Santini, his father aided him by supplying technical details about military fighter planes, and that this helped to improve their relationship. When the book was published, Donald Conroy saw the character of Bull Meecham as a truthful tribute. Thereafter, he would accompany Pat to book signings and would sign his son's books with the signature, "Donald Conroy – The Great Santini."
After retirement, Conroy moved to Atlanta, Georgia. He died from colon cancer on May 9, 1998, and is interred at Beaufort National Cemetery, South Carolina. As Bull Meecham/Meechum is killed in the crash of his fighter in both the novel and movie versions of The Great Santini, and his funeral scene was filmed at the same cemetery for the movie, Conroy joked while planning his own funeral that it would be the second time he would be buried there.
| Naval Aviator Badge | |||||||||||
| Distinguished Flying Cross w/ 2 | Air Medal w/ 4 award stars | Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ 1 service star | |||||||||
| Army Presidential Unit Citation | Navy Unit Commendation w/ 4 | American Campaign Medal | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 1 service star | ||||||||
| World War II Victory Medal | Navy Occupation Service Medal | National Defense Service Medal w/ 1 service star | Korean Service Medal w/ 4 service stars | ||||||||
| United Nations Korea Medal | Philippine Liberation Medal w/ 1 service star | Presidential Unit Citation (Philippines) | Presidential Unit Citation (Korea) | ||||||||
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