Billy Don't Be a Hero US version sold over three and a half million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in June 1974. Donaldson and the Heywoods's version was a massive hit in Latin America and Japan as well, but it remained largely unknown elsewhere as of late July 2017. "Billboard" ranked it as the No. 21 song for 1974. Despite the song's popularity, it was poorly received, and it was voted No. 8 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's readers' poll of "10 Worst Songs of the 1970s." The song is mentioned as having played on K-Billy's "Super Sounds of the '70s
Don T. Griswold The "Evarts"-class short-hull destroyer escort USS Griswold (DE-7) was named for him and launched in 1943. Don T. Griswold Ensign Don T. Griswold, Jr., (8 July 1917 – 6 June 1942) was a United States Naval Aviator, who was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions during the Battle of Midway. Born in Bryan, Texas, he attended Iowa State and after graduation joined the Naval Aviation Corps. During the Battle of Midway, 6 June 1942, his Douglas SBD-3 "Dauntless" scout-bomber scored a hit on a Japanese ship but was hit by antiaircraft fire and plunged into the sea.