Colonel Donald "Don" Dearl Ezell, USMC (Ret.)
Ezell, Don
1944-1973
Dates of Service:
Col. Donald “Don” Dearl Ezell (1922–2010) was a highly decorated Marine Corps officer whose 30-year career spanned World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.
After earning a commission in 1944, he served as an aerial observer during the Battle of Okinawa, later fought at the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, and played a key intelligence role during the events leading up to Dien Bien Phu. He went on to command artillery units in Vietnam, earning the Purple Heart, and later served at the Pentagon before retiring as a Colonel in 1973.
Remembered for his leadership, courage, and dedication to God, family, and country, Col. Ezell received 27 decorations and is honored through a memorial library established from his personal collection.
Col. Ezell's nieces generously donated over 450 military books from his estate to the Longhorn Detachment. We now have the wonderful chance to explore the same books that Col. Ezell cherished in the newly established Col. Don D. Ezell library.
