Don Sapp (he later legally changed his last name to Stapp while in the Marine Corps) was born on December 29, 1916, in Center Hill, Florida. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve on June 17, 1935, and served until June 16, 1939. During this time he attended the University of Miami, and then re-enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve on July 15, 1940. He went on active duty to attend Aviation Cadet training on December 28, 1940, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps and designated a Naval Aviator at NAS Pensacola, Florida, on June 3, 1941. Lt Stapp served as a flight instructor at NAS Miami, Florida, from August 1941 to November 1942, and then served as an F4U-1 Corsair pilot with VMF-222 in the United States and deployed to the Solomon Islands from December 1942 to April 1944. During this time he was promoted to Major in May 1943, and he was credited with the destruction of 10 enemy aircraft in aerial combat plus 4 probables and 2 damaged in the air between September 1943 and March 1944. He returned to the United States in May 1944, and then served as Commander of VMF-524 at MCAS Congaree, South Carolina, from June 1944 to March 1945. Lt Col Stapp next served as a Goodyear F4G-1A Corsair pilot and Commander of VMF-122 at Peleliu Airfield on the island of Palau from May 1945 to January 1946, followed by service with the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing at MCAS Ewa, Hawaii, from January to March 1946. He served at NAS San Diego, California, from May 1946 to March 1947, and then as Commander of VMF-214 at MCAS El Toro, California, and deployed aboard the escort carrier USS Rendova (CVE-114) from April 1947 to October 1948. His next assignment was with Headquarters Marine Corps Department of the Pacific at San Francisco, California, from November 1948 to May 1950, followed by service with Headquarters Battalion, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps in Washington, D.C., from June 1950 to April 1953. Col Stapp served as Commander of Headquarters Squadron, Marine Aircraft Group 15 (MAG-15) at MCAS El Toro from April to September 1953, and then as an F9F Panther pilot, FJ Fury pilot, and as Commander of VMF-215 at MCAS El Toro from September 1953 to April 1955. During this time he deployed with the squadron to Japan and Korea. He served as Commander of Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 11 (H&MS-11) with MAG-11 of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at NAS Atsugi, Japan, from May 1955 to February 1956, and then attended Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk Virginia, from February 1956 to September 1958. He was assigned to Headquarters Battalion with Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps in Washington, D.C., while he completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Florida from September 1958 to June 1959, and then served as Commander of H&MS-14 with MAG-14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina, from July to December 1959. His next assignment was as Commander of Headquarters Squadron, Marine Wing Headquarters Group, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at MCAS Cherry Point from December 1959 to May 1960, followed by service as Commander of H&MS-24, MAG-24, with 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at MCAS Cherry Point from May 1960 to July 1961. Col Stapp attended Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, from August 1961 to June 1962, and then served on the staff of 1st Engineering Maintenance Company at MCB Camp Pendleton, California, from June 1962 to July 1964. His next assignment was as Commander of H&HS-1 with Marine Wing Headquarters Group 1, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing at DaNang, South Vietnam, from September 1964 to March 1965, and then as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff with Headquarters Company, 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, III Marine Expeditionary Force in DaNang from April to June 1965. Col Stapp served with Headquarters Battalion, III Marine Amphibious Force with the 3rd Marine Division at DaNang from June to September 1965, and then with Headquarters Company, Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Forces Pacific at Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaii, from September 1965 to July 1966. His final assignment was as Commander of the 1st Marine Brigade at MCAS Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, from July 1966 until his retirement from the Marine Corps on July 1, 1968. Don Stapp Flew West on February 26, 1988, and was buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, California.

His Navy Cross Citation reads:

for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Division Leader and a Pilot of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO-HUNDRED TWENTY-TWO (VMF-222), Marine Air Group TWELVE (MAG-12), FIRST Marine Aircraft Wing, in aerial combat against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands and Bismarck Archipelago Areas, from 18 November 1943 to 19 March 1944. Courageously leading his division in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire and aerial opposition, Major Sapp boldly participated in a total of ninety-nine strike escorts, strafing missions and fighter sweeps over enemy territory, inflicting severe damage on Japanese aircraft, barges, gun emplacements and shore installations. Flying escort for bombers over Tobera Airfield, New Britain, on 3 February, he shot down one and probably destroyed two other enemy fighters and, maneuvering his plane with determined aggressiveness during a dive-bomber attack against Simpson Harbor, Rabaul, on 17 February, he personally shot two Zeroes from the sky and severely damaged a third. Engaged in a daring fighter sweep over New Britain on 12 March, he succeeded in destroying two Japanese fighter planes and probably a third which were circling Tobera Airfield at approximately three hundred feet altitude. A brilliant airman and leader and a daring fighter, Major Sapp contributed vitally to the success of his squadron throughout these and other extremely hazardous missions and his great personal valor in the face of grave peril was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.