Buck Donaldson begins his memoir (entitled He Leads Me: Oh Blessed Thought!) with an account of his childhood in small towns in northern Louisiana, including descriptions of his father's work as a physician and of his own education in Louisiana's public schools and at Louisiana State University. Donaldson then recounts his decision to leave LSU in order to join the U. S. Navy and study radar in December of 1942. He trained as a radioman and later as a signalman before being assigned to guard duty on Treasure Island (near San Francisco), California. Donaldson remembers spending only a short time on Treasure Island before being assigned to the Liberty Ship Casper S. Yost, which was assigned to transport supplies and eventually circumnavigated the globe. Donaldson next describes his return to Treasure Island and assignment to the Cape Canso, which transported troops in the Pacific Theater and participated in the invasion of the Palau Islands. He returned to San Francisco in November of 1944, where he remained until being assigned to the Liberty Ship Cyrus Alder in May of 1945. Donaldson ends his memoir with an account of his return to the United States and his joy at the war's end.

Interested researchers may also wish to consult MS.3265: Buck Donaldson Oral History, 2002 October 21 for more information about Donaldson's life.