Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1483691
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM NOVEMBER 9 - 15, 2022 UCW 15 KATHLEEN RAMSEY, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. 910-484-6200. "I know you don't," she laughs. "at way I don't have to answer questions," Curley said. e siblings all grew up working out on the farm except for Sandra who recalled coming along anyway because she couldn't be left home alone. Margaret stops the chatter for a moment to debate on whether she worked on the farm and Martin Jr. chimes in that if she had done it, "you'd have known it." e group laughs for a moment. When speaking, each sibling goes back and forth between calling their siblings by their real names and nicknames. ey begin to talk about the nicknames they were all given. Martin Jr. became just June for Junior. Curley is the comic. Oliver is the quiet one or Marshal Dillon due to his non-rushing nature. Sandra became Gal. Curley jokes that anything that happened to pop out of their mouths was what they would be called. e nicknames ran fast and loose in the family. "I got one word that would go with two," Margaret says. "Scaredy cat," Martin says back, laughing. "She sees a snake on TV and she starts run- ning," Curley says. e rest of the group starts laughing now. "Ah, come on now. What is that?" "I got another name, meanie." Martin Jr. points to Margaret. "I guess I just got that voice sometimes," Margaret answers. "What voice?" Martin says. "I dunno. at voice." Margaret replies. e conversation naturally comes back to Harold and the group silences for a second, then calmly a few of them say the word that they think embodied him — "cool." Many of the siblings say it at the same time as if the feeling about their brother is completely un- spoken but mutual among them. "He would probably have ended up as a Motown singer if he had come back," Joyce says. "He used to be out on a Saturday. You could hear him a block and a half away sing- ing. You could hear windows going up and people telling him to be quiet." Right before going to Vietnam, Harold wrote a letter to Motown and was accepted to come audition, Joyce recalls. Curley joins in and talks about Harold singing at the Apollo on Wednesday nights. Harold is buried out in Rockfish Cemetery on 301 near his mother and father. Martin Sr. died in 1994 and Pearl in 2001. "I was out there today," Martin Jr. says. "All the time," says Curley. is year they plan to host the same tradi- tion of breakfast and then flag placement in downtown Fayetteville. ey will laugh. ey will share stories. ey will ping off each other's jokes as quickly as any siblings. And they will remember Harold. "It makes you stay appreciative," Sandra says. ey all smile and look around the room. ey are as close as any siblings could be. Oliver, who is true to his quiet moniker, hasn't spoken much during the talks. He then says quietly after looking around, "We all love each other." COVER Left to right: Curley, Shirley, Martin Jr., Sabina and Sandra McDonald attend the 2022 Purple Heart Dinner. ree McDonald brothers served in Vietnam — Oliver, Martin Jr., and Harold, who was killed saving the life of another soldier. (Photo by April Olsen) e McDonald family keeps a faded newspaper clipping that shows their mother, Pearl, accepting medals from the Fort Bragg Com- mander on behalf of her son, Sgt. Harold W. McDonald. (Photo courtesy the McDonald family) Sgt. Harold Wayne McDonald was killed in Vietnam on Nov. 20, 1969. (Photos courtesy the McDonald family)