Donald Conroy Donald " The Great Santini " Conroy ( April 4 , 1921 – May 9 , 1998 ) was a United States Marine Corps colonel and a member of the famed Black Sheep Squadron during the Korean War . He was also a veteran of World War II and of two tours of duty in Vietnam . He is best known as the being the inspiration for the character LtCol . " Bull " Meechum in " The Great Santini " which was written by his son Pat Conroy . Biography . Conroy was originally from Chicago and left Saint Ambrose College in Davenport , Iowa , to enlist in the Marines during World War II . He would later be commissioned an officer and become a pilot with VMF - 214 when the Korean War began in June 1950 . The squadron became the first Marine squadron to see action during the War providing close air support and aerial interdiction during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter , Battle of Inchon and Battle of Chosin Reservoir while flying from the USS Sicily ( CVE - 118 ) . During the Cuban Missile Crisis , Conroy was part of an A - 4 Skyhawk squadron at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort . They were alerted and would quickly deploy to Roosevelt Roads Naval Station where they would remain for the duration of the crisis . He would also serve two tours in Vietnam during the Vietnam War He and his wife Peggy had seven children : Donald Patrick " Pat " , Carol , Mike , Kathy , Jim , Tim , and Tom . Novelist Pat Conroy used his father as the inspiration for the fictitious character Marine Lt . Col . " Bull " Meechum in " The Great Santini " . Pat Conroy wrote another autobiographical book called " My Losing Season " , and as in " The Great Santini " , talks about how his father was very violent and abusive both towards him and his siblings . ( The abuse took psychological form for all the children , and was additionally physical towards the male siblings . ) Pat ' s sister Kathy was institutionalized with mental illness , his brother , Tom , developed schizophrenia ( and later committed suicide at age 33 ) , and Pat himself also attempted suicide in 1975 . Pat has indicated violent memories of his father haunt his every waking moment , a theme the author fictionalizes in his novel " The Prince of Tides " . However , in later years , following his retirement from the Marines , Donald Conroy mended relationships with his children . In " The Pat Conroy Cookbook " , Pat Conroy provides numerous stories of his close relationship with his father during adulthood . He writes that in writing " The Great Santini , " his father aided him by supplying technical details about military fighter planes , and that this helped to improve their relationship . When the book was published , Donald Conroy saw the character of Bull Meecham as a truthful tribute . Thereafter , he would accompany Pat to book signings , and would sign his son ' s books with the signature , " Donald Conroy - The Great Santini . " " " When other writers asked me why I allowed this incursion , I explained that my father and I had to search for ways to say we loved each other without saying the words . " " . After retirement , Conroy moved to Atlanta , Georgia . He died from colon cancer on May 9 , 1998 and is interred at Beaufort National Cemetery , South Carolina . As Bull Meechum is killed in the crash of his fighter in both the novel and movie versions of " The Great Santini " , and his funeral scene was filmed at the same cemetery for the movie , Conroy joked while planning his own funeral that it would be the second time he would be buried there . Awards and decorations . His decorations and medals include :