Calvin Graham
{{Short description|United States Navy sailor}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Calvin Leon Graham
|birth_date= {{birth date|1930|4|3}}
|death_date= {{death date and age|1992|11|6|1930|4|3}}
|birth_place= Canton, Texas, US
|death_place= Fort Worth, Texas, US
|placeofburial=
|placeofburial_label= Place of burial
|image= Calvin Graham.jpg
|caption= Seaman First Class Calvin Graham in 1942
|nickname=
|allegiance= File:Flag of the United States (Pantone).svg United States
|branch= 25px United States Navy
{{marines|United States}}
|serviceyears= 1942–1943
1948–1951
|rank= 17px Seaman First Class – USN
19px Corporal – USMC{{cite web |url=http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.asp?ID=1439 |title=Calvin L. Graham |publisher=Veteran Tributes |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326145111/http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.asp?ID=1439 |archivedate=March 26, 2012}}
|commands=
|unit= USS South Dakota
|battles= World War II
|awards=25px Bronze Star Medal (W/"V" Device)
25px Purple Heart
|laterwork=
}}
Calvin Leon Graham (April 3, 1930 – November 6, 1992) was the youngest U.S. serviceman to serve and fight during World War II and was one of the few known child soldiers to fight on behalf of the United States in the conflict.{{cite news|last=Fontaine|first=Scott|title=Meet the youngest surviving WWII veteran|url=http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/38026|newspaper=Scripps News|date=November 18, 2008|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113190843/http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/38026|archivedate=November 13, 2011}} Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the United States Navy from Houston, Texas on August 15, 1942, at the age of 12.[http://www.oldvums.org/index.html Veterans of Underage Military Service] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140605/http://www.oldvums.org/index.html |date=2018-06-12 }}. Retrieved November 13, 2014. His case was similar to that of Jack W. Hill, who was granted significant media attention due to holding service number one million during World War II, but later was discovered to have lied about his age and subsequently discharged.
Early life
Graham was born in Canton, Texas, and was attending elementary school in Houston before he decided to join the Navy, after his father had died and his mother had remarried.Grossman, Ron (June 17, 1994), [https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/06/17/a-medal-of-honor-4/ "A Medal of Honor"], Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
US Navy, World War II
Graham enlisted in the Navy on August 15, 1942. He went through boot camp in San Diego, California for six weeks. He was deployed to the USS South Dakota, at Pearl Harbor in Oahu, Hawaii.
= USS ''South Dakota'' =
On October 26, 1942, he saw action in the Battle of the Santa Cruz. The South Dakota and her crew received a Navy Unit Commendation for their service. On the night of November 14–15, 1942, Graham was wounded during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He served as a loader for a 40 mm anti-aircraft gun and was hit by shrapnel while taking a hand message to an officer.Stories from the USS South Dakota, [https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012718/http://www.ussdakota.com/uss-south-dakota-stories-page1.html "At 12, I Fought The Japs"]. Archived November 29, 2014.King, Gilbert (December 19, 2012), [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-boy-who-became-a-world-war-ii-veteran-at-13-years-old-168104583/?no-ist "The Boy Who Became A World War II Veteran at 13 Years Old"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112094319/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-boy-who-became-a-world-war-ii-veteran-at-13-years-old-168104583/?no-ist |date=2014-11-12 }}, Smithsonian.com. Retrieved November 11, 2014. Though he received fragmentation wounds, he helped in rescue duty by aiding and pulling the wounded aboard ship to safety. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart, and he and his crew mates were awarded another Navy Unit Commendation.
The South Dakota returned to the East Coast on December 18, 1942, for an overhaul and battle damage repairs (she had taken 42 hits from at least three enemy ships) in New York City, and since then, was named "Battleship X" in order to make the Japanese think she had been sunk. Graham's mother revealed his age after he traveled to his grandmother's funeral in Texas (he arrived a day late) without permission from the Navy, for which he spent three months in a Texas brig. He was released after his sister threatened to contact the newspapers. Although he had tried to return to his ship, he was discharged from the Navy on April 1, 1943, and his awards were revoked.{{cite book | last = Breyer | first = Rick | title = The Greatest War Stories Never Told | year = 2005 | publisher = Collins | location = New York | isbn = 0-06-076017-6 | oclc = 58985926 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/greatestwarstori00beye/page/160 160–161] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/greatestwarstori00beye/page/160 }} The South Dakota{{'}}s gunnery officer who was involved in handling his case was Sargent Shriver.
He then worked in a Houston shipyard as a welder after dropping out of school. At age 14 he married and became a father the following year. At age 17 he was divorced when he enlisted in the Marine Corps.
US Marine Corps, 1948–1951
Graham joined the United States Marine Corps in 1948 at age 17. His enlistment in the Marines also ended early when he fell from a pier and broke his back in 1951 during the Korean War.{{cite news
|last = Saxton
|first = Michelle
|date = November 3, 2003
|url = http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/article_98e43376-43d5-5d36-b2b6-7a477a376d74.html
|title = Decades later, military veterans admit being underage when they enlisted
|newspaper = Northwest Indiana Times
|accessdate = April 3, 2011
|archive-date = September 27, 2012
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120927070332/http://www.nwitimes.com/lifestyles/article_98e43376-43d5-5d36-b2b6-7a477a376d74.html
|url-status = live
}} Although serving in the Marine Corps qualified him as a veteran, he would spend the rest of his life fighting for full medical benefits and clearing his military service record.
Post military service
In 1978, Graham was finally given an honorable discharge for his service in the Navy, and after writing to Congress and with the approval of President Jimmy Carter, all medals except his Purple Heart were reinstated. His story came to public attention in 1988, when his story was told in the TV movie, Too Young the Hero starring Rick Schroder.
In 1988, Graham received disability benefits and back pay for his service in the Navy after President Ronald Reagan signed legislation that granted Graham full disability benefits, increased his back pay to $4,917 and allowed him $18,000 for past medical bills, contingent on receipts for the medical services.{{cite web
|url=http://ddiekman.tripod.com/id51.html
|first=Diane
|last=Diekman
|date=November 1, 1995
|title=Navy Memorial
|newspaper=Clear Lake Courier
|accessdate=April 3, 2011
|archive-date=May 14, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514031454/http://ddiekman.tripod.com/id51.html
|url-status=live
|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=35150
|title=Statement on Signing a Bill for the Relief of Calvin L. Graham
|author=Ronald Reagan
|author-link=Ronald Reagan
|date=November 10, 1988
|accessdate=April 3, 2011
|archive-date=May 22, 2011
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522022757/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=35150
|url-status=live
}} H.R. 610, "An Act Graham is a veteran of Navy and Marine for the relief of Calvin L. Graham", assigned Private Law No. 100-44. By this time, some of the doctors who treated him had died and many medical bills were lost. He received only $2,100 of the possible $18,000. While the money for the rights to his story for the movie, Too Young The Hero amounted to $50,000, 50% went to two agents and 20% went to a writer of an unpublished book about Graham. He and his wife received just $15,000 before taxes.
= Death =
Graham's Purple Heart was finally reinstated, and presented to his widow, Mary, on June 21, 1994, by Secretary of the Navy John Dalton in Arlington, Texas, nearly two years after his death from heart failure. He was buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.{{Cite web |url=http://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1439 |title=Veteran Tributes |access-date=2019-07-28 |archive-date=2019-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913192854/http://www.veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=1439 |url-status=live }}
Military awards
Graham's decorations and military awards, as finally settled circa 1994 after intervention by Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton:
| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="3"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|other_device=nv|ribbon=Bronze Star ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Navy Unit Commendation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|ribbon=Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| {{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Republic of Korea War Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |
| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |
| 1st Row
|colspan="6"|Bronze Star with Combat "V" |
|---|
| 2nd Row
|colspan="2"|Purple Heart |colspan="2"|Navy Unit Commendation |colspan="2"|American Campaign Medal |
| 3rd Row
|colspan="2"|Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal |colspan="2"|World War II Victory Medal |colspan="2"|National Defense Service Medal |
| 4th Row
|colspan="2"|Korean Service Medal |colspan="2"|United Nations Service Medal |colspan="2"|Republic of Korea War Service Medal |
References
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110827181631/http://spg.navylog.org/individual.aspx?&navy_log_id=53888 Lonesailer.org biography]
- [http://archive.gao.gov/lglpapr2pdf7/111583.pdf Comptroller General of the United States: Matter of Calvin L. Graham]
- [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096286/ Too Young the Hero] on the Internet Movie Database
- [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20069369,00.html People Magazine: The Navy's 'Baby' Hero]
- [https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10667014/calvin-leon-graham Calvin Graham at findagrave]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Calvin}}
Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II
Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War
Category:Child soldiers in World War II
Category:People from Canton, Texas
Category:United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers