He played them all through middle school and high school. But he gave them up after graduation for four years.

Then last August, his father shipped his pipes to him at Camp Al Taqaddum Airbase in central Iraq.

Marine Lance Cpl. McDonald, of the 3rd Battalion, was stationed there, and he had a lot of downtime. The bagpipes would help him pass it.

It took a week for the traditional Scottish songs to come back to him.

McDonald, 21, usually doesn't like playing in front of people, but his fellow Marines got a kick out of his pipes, he said.

"It was a morale booster," McDonald said, especially when he played the Marine Hymn. "I joked around, because Marines are supposed to stand at attention whenever the Marine Hymn is played, so during busy times, I would break it out, and they would have to stand at attention," he said.

Then one day this year, he was asked to play his pipes for celebrity members of the USO tour coming to his base.

He played his four or five Scottish songs as Robin Williams, Lewis Black, Lance Armstrong, Kid Rock and Miss America stepped off a helicopter.

Comedian Williams and rocker Rock stopped when they reached McDonald and his pipes.

"Some of the things Robin Williams said shouldn't be repeated," McDonald said. "Kid Rock sang the Marine Hymn while I played."

McDonald was later told that Williams mentioned him on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."

"From what I've been told, he told Jay Leno that he met some kid playing the bagpipes," McDonald said.

There was also a brief clip on "Good Morning America" showing Williams speaking to McDonald.

Talking to Williams was better than seeing the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, also part of the USO tour, McDonald said.

On March 17, McDonald, a graduate of Athens Drive High School, left the Middle East for his home in Raleigh. He has enrolled in college and plans for another tour in Iraq.

This summer, he's a camp counselor at Camp Sea Gull, near New Bern. And yes, he has his pipes with him. Friday morning, he played the Marine Hymn as his camp raided another.

The campers, he said, wanted him to play to lead the charge.

The pipes, though, were silent at the camp's July 4 celebration. Instead, McDonald used his speaking pipes to recognize his fellow Marines who lost their lives in Iraq, including two friends.

"The kids need to be grateful and appreciative to the sacrifice of those who gave everything," he said.