Noonan, David

David Noonan was born May 4, 1949 in Guelph, Ontario. He grew up in the working class neighbourhood known as the Ward in the 50s and 60s, attending Catholic school. Dave graduated high school in 1967 and got a job, but as he recalls he was bored and looking for something else. So he crossed the border and went to Buffalo, where he joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Parris Island and Camp Lejeune followed, after which he was on a flight to Vietnam. He landed at Danang and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, based in Quang Tri, and he was soon sent into the field. Dave would experience all the realities of the war during his time in I Corps, from the patrols and ambushes to the wildlife and rainfall. Dave did two tours back-to-back, the second in the Combined Action Program (CAP), where he was connected to villagers and local militia.  CAP was a Marine Corps counterinsurgency effort which placed a Marine rifle squad and a Vietnamese militia platoon of youth and elderly men in rural villages as a strategy to counter the Vietcong. Dave saw a lot in Vietnam, and he says he was not impacted at the time, but with the passing of years he did begin to feel some of the physical and psychological effects that the war surely brought on. Today he tells his story – after burying it for many years – and he is committed to the causes of history and remembrance and veterans’ advocacy. Dave Noonan was interviewed at his home in Guelph in February 2026 by Zach Dunn of Global Veterans’ Stories and Scott Masters.