The United States was less than a year away from the Iraq War when Donald McCune joined the military in 2002. He couldn’t have known that at 20 he’d be the first Washtenaw County casualty from what would become a 10-year war.

His mother. Darcy Monier, said he would have gone even if he knew his fate.

“He wanted to make a difference,” she said. “He wanted to be a part of what he thought was going to make a big difference.”

McCune, called Donnie by his friends and family, came from a strong military family. His great-great grandfather, great-grandfather, uncles and stepfather all served in various facets of the U.S. military. So when he graduated from Huron High School in Ann Arbor in 2002, he knew exactly what he was going to do with his life.

“I have no doubt that if he wouldn’t have died, he would have been over there multiple times,” Monier said. “The military was going to be a career.”

For two years, McCune served out of an Army Reserve in Fraser, just northeast of Warren. After being released from his unit, he joined the Washington State National Guard. He was assigned to the Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, 81st Brigade Combat Team and stationed in Moses Lake, Wash.

More than a military man, McCune was dedicated to his family and friends. McCune moved with his mother and sister to Chelsea at 9-years-old.

“He loved his little sister,” Monier said. “She was probably a real big part of his world. It was just me and the two of them for a long time. He took on a big role as head of the household at a very young age.”

Even as an adult serving in the Army in Iraq, he maintained a strong connection with his mother.

“He was always a very affectionate child, even as he got older,” Monier said. “Donnie, any time he could get a hold of satellite phone, he’d call home. I’d get a quick five minutes of a chat with him, and he’d have to get going. He (said) life was very boring, he drove the commander around, they went to meetings.”

After his death, Monier found out he was actually a gunner on a Humvee, a dangerous job.

He died on Aug. 5, 2004 after an improvised explosive device detonated near his patrol in Balad, Iraq.

His stepfather, Benjamin Lewis, had just returned from a tour in Iraq when McCune died. Lewis would return for another tour in 2006.

Monier believes her son would have still chose to fight.

“I know very few people that have deployed and have been over there and came back and regretted the decision,” she said. “I don’t think that he would have ever regretted that he chose to do that.”

McCune’s willful personality was a good match for the military life, his mother said.

“He was a headstrong kid, even from the time he was little,” Monier said. “He loved life, he was always out to see what the next adventure he could come up with was. The military was a good path for him. He was one of those kids who was too smart for his own good. I think the structure was good for him.”

McCune’s love for life went beyond his family and friends, as well.

“He had one of those personalities that anybody who met you just kind of fell in love with him,” Monier said. “He had this smile...He loved to hunt, he loved to fish. He was kind of an all-around kid.”

As for the war that took her son, Monier said she still believes Iraq needed help.

“I’ve always felt that there were things that needed to change in Iraq,” she said. “Whether or not our presence was needed to do that, I’m still not sure. Did we make a huge difference? Probably in some respects we did. There are some people in power that aren’t there to dictate those things.”

In the nine years since McCune’s death Monier has kept her son’s memory alive through a plethora of events including attending other fallen soldiers’ funerals, reaching out to families who have struggled with the same loss and Memorial Day events.

“I said from the very beginning that I never wanted him forgotten,” she said. “Doing these things keeps him alive, it keeps that memory.”

Memorial Day events for her include the Lest They be Forgotten 5K run, a breakfast at the governor’s mansion and an annual service at Arbor Crest Cemetery on Glacier Road in Ann Arbor.

Remembering Memorial Day for its original meaning is an important step in making sure men and women like McCune didn’t die in vain, Monier said.

“I think sometimes people need to remember what Memorial Day is for,” she said. “It’s not just a weekend for picnic and vacations and stuff like. Even if you take an hour out of your day to go someplace and show your respect, I think that says a lot. I think that is one of the perfect opportunities to be able to remember.”

Remembrance doesn’t have to end with Memorial Day. Monier encourages people to reach out to service members and give them a simple “thank you” for their service.

“I think the biggest thing that I always try to tell people is, when you see people in uniform, say thank you,” she said. “They sacrifice a lot so that we can have what we have. Even as a whole a veteran’s family makes a big sacrifice.”

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