Current data for Contributor
Smither, James (Interviewer)
Current data for Description
Donald Goins was born in 1921 in Sigma, Michigan, and grew up in Zanesville, Ohio. His family farmed and ran a produce trucking business that made regular trips to the Southern United States to market. Although Goins is African- American, he did not fall victim to the racially charged environment where he did business. He was drafted into the United States Army and entered the service in 1943. Goins completed basic training at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana, and then stationed on a series of air bases in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas, and eventually worked as a mechanic repairing B-29 bombers. He recalls having to be careful while traveling through the south due to fear of lynching, but also being offered the opportunity to train as an officer.
