Florence Ballard sometimes replaced Ballard on stage with the Andantes' Marlene Barrow. In April 1967, Cindy Birdsong, member of Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles, became a stand-in for Ballard. A month later, Ballard returned to the group from what she thought was a temporary leave of absence. In June, Gordy changed the group's name to "The Supremes with Diana Ross", which was how they were billed on the marquee of Las Vegas' Flamingo Hotel. On July 1, the day after her 24th birthday, Ballard showed up inebriated during the group's third performance at the Flamingo and stuck her stomach out from
Donald E. Ballard Donald E. Ballard Donald Everett Ballard (born December 5, 1945) is a retired American colonel in the Kansas National Guard and former member of the United States Navy, in which he was a hospital corpsman in the Vietnam War and received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty on May 16, 1968. Ballard was born in Kansas City, Missouri. He was married and was working in a dental lab when he decided to join the Navy in hopes of becoming a dentist someday. He enlisted in the United States Navy in 1965. After