By Crystal Hayduk
(Chelsea Update would like to thank Larry Doll for assisting with the information for this story.)
A special graduation ceremony was held on Dec. 10 in the Beach Middle School media center.
With family standing by ready with cameras, WWII veteran Don Doll wore a blue mortarboard with tassel as he sat waiting for his name to be called. Chelsea School District (CSD) Board of Education President Anne Mann said, “It is my honor to hand you this diploma after all these years,” as she presented the sheepskin bearing his name.
After shaking the hand of each board member present, he stood in front of Chelsea High School (CHS) Principal Mike Kapolka, who said the words Doll had waited 73 years to hear: “Don Doll, on behalf of Chelsea High School, as Chelsea High School’s principal, I’d like for you to now take your tassel and move it from left to right signifying your graduation from Chelsea High School.”
Doll looked at his class ring on his left pinky finger that he had retrieved from his memorabilia. “I can wear the ring now,” he said.
Superintendent Julie Helber thanked Chelsea City Mayor Melissa Johnson for facilitating the landmark event.
Doll was one of four veterans that Johnson had met during the Veterans Day observation on Nov. 11. (Related story here: https://chelseaupdate.com/chelsea-honors-its-veterans-with-slideshow/.) When she learned that he missed the opportunity to graduate due to his military service, Johnson contacted the school district to see what could be done.
Thanks to Public Act 181 of 2001 (Operation Recognition), qualified military veterans of WWII, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam era may receive their high school diplomas.
For more information about high school diplomas for veterans, visit https://www.michiganveterans.com/a/High-School-Diploma-Applications or call Michigan Veterans Affairs at 800-MICH-VET (800-642-4838).
About Don Doll
Don Doll was born in 1927, the youngest of Albert and Loretta (Weber) Doll’s three children.
A lifelong Chelsea resident, Doll began high school in 1941, only months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7 and the United States’ involvement in the war.
His brother, Albert, Jr., graduated in 1943 and joined the Navy.
During the spring of Doll’s senior year in 1945, the Allies were gaining ground in Europe, but the war in the Pacific continued. Eager to join his brother, and with the support of his parents, Doll left high school in April at the age of 17 to enlist in the Navy.
He was stationed in Rhode Island with the Seabees (the nickname formed from the letters C.B. in the United States Naval Construction Battalions). Doll was “pretty sure” they were preparing to go to Japan at the time, but the transfer never came. The Japanese surrendered after the atomic bombings on Aug. 6 and 9.
Doll’s Navy service ended with a medical discharge when he suffered a knee injury.
Doll married Therese Lyons in 1948. They had six children.
He held several jobs in Chelsea. His first position was as a foreman on the packaging line at Chelsea Milling Company, but the recession in 1949 forced him into the construction trades until 1952. During these years, he built the family’s first home in town. They lived in the basement while they finished building the house above.
In 1952, Doll found employment in plant protection at the newly opened Chrysler Proving Grounds just south of Chelsea. He eventually became a driver/mechanic, and ended his career as a foreman in the fuel systems department. He worked with Chrysler for more than 30 years, retiring in 1983.
Doll enjoyed hunting on the farm owned by his maternal uncles. He visited there often to give his uncles a helping hand, even becoming a part-time farmer. He purchased the farm in 1962, so the family moved to the country. They raised sheep, cattle, and chickens; and grew corn, hay and oats for feed; and wheat as a cash crop.
Although Doll retired from the farming business in 1983, the land is still being used to grow crops through a lease arrangement.
Doll has been a member of American Legion Post 31 since his return from the Navy, and has served as Commander three times. He’s assisted with the annual chicken BBQ and winter carnival, and helped with July 4 fireworks displays.
As a lifelong member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Chelsea, Doll’s faith influences his service. Not only is he currently an active member of the Knights of Columbus, but he was also a member of the St. Louis Center Community Advisory Council in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He still goes to St. Louis Center nearly every day to help as needed and run errands.
At the age of 91, Doll resides in the farmhouse that has been in his family for more than 160 years. He misses his wife, who passed away in 2009, but he remains active with his children and their families.
They are grateful that his knee injury and the war’s end allowed him to safely return to become the patriarch of a family that now also includes seven grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
