Lieutenant Colonel Donald H. Shannon, USAF (ret.) “was commissioned in ROTC at Idaho and ha a BA and MA.  He wa a navigator in the Strategic Air Command and flew in the “Arc Light” operation in SEA.  He was the first on the SAC Airborne Command Post to have served in two legs of the “nuclear triad,” the manned bomber force and intercontinental ballistic missiles.”  As an adjunct professor of history at Boise State University Donald H. Shannon does historical research and is the author of The Boise Massacre on the Oregon Trail: Attack on the Ward Party in 1854 and Massacres of 1859; Massacre Rocks and City of Rocks; and, The Utter Disaster on the Oregon Trail.

According to one reader of The Utter Disaster on the Oregon Trail, “Mostly unknown by the general public and historians, the story of the ill-fated Utter and Van Ornum parties in 1860 ranks high on the list of most moving struggles of the westward-bound emigrants along the Oregon Trail. This story, inaccurately recorded until now, rates as a must-read by any aficionado of Oregon Trail history. Mr. Shannon spent several years researching this book, and the quality of that research shines through on almost every page. The names of all the players in the tragedy are there. Details of every conceivable facet of the story is included. There are many very rare photos and drawings included, and well-drawn maps of each part of the tale grace the pages of this invaluable resource. The story itself is compelling beyond measure. There is heroism, cowardice, death, destruction, and intrigue at every turn. If only the story of 13 year-old Emmeline Trimble and her 10 year-old brother Christopher were included in this book, I would still recommend it highly. This slim volume, however, is easily read in one sitting and yet covers the subject of the "massacre" completely. The writing is energetic and entirely factual. This is easily one of the best books on Oregon Trail matters written in the last ten years. I recommend it highly. Anyone interested in how the west was really won and lost should consider Donald Shannon's book an absolute must-have.”

According to the book description of Massacre Rocks and City of Rocks, “Donald Shannon presents the third in his series of books on Indian attacks on emigrant trans on the Oregon Trail west of the Rocky Mountains. Massacre Rocks and City of Rocks details attacks that took place in 1862 at those two sites in what is now southeast Idaho.”

According to the book description of The Boise Massacre on the Oregon Trail: Attack on the Ward Party in 1854 and Massacres of 1859, “Only some half-dozen of the adverse encounters between Indians and emigrants on the Oregon and California Trails can be termed "massacre". The Ward Party Massacre that occurred on the BOise river is the mos is one of those unfortunate, and often overlooked events. Author Donald H. Shannon explores the relations between the peoples of the "Snake Country" of Southern Idaho, Shoshoni, Northern Paiutes, Bannocks and Emigrants, in a attempt to describe the environment that led to several of the most violent conflicts that occurred along the Oregon and California trails.”