Calvin Leon Graham (April 3, 1930 – November 6, 1992) was the youngest U.S. serviceman to serve and fight during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Following the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

, he enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

on August 15, 1942, at the age of 12.Veterans of Underage Military Service
. Retrieved November 13, 2014. His case was similar to that of

Jack W. Hill Jack Warner Hill (1928–1987) was a member of the United States Marine Corps who bears the distinction of holding Marine Corps enlisted service number one million (1,000,000). Hill served a total of two enlistments in the Marine Corps, one durin ...

, 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)
"A Medal of Honor"
, ''Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved November 15, 2014.

US Navy, World War II

He enlisted in the Navy on August 15, 1942, and was sent to

boot camp Boot camp may refer to: Training programs * Boot camp (correctional), a type of correctional facility for adolescents, especially in the U.S. penal system * Boot camp, a training camp for learning various types of skills ** Dev bootcamp, a de ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, for six weeks, and afterwards he was sent to

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

at Oahu, Hawaii, where he was assigned to USS ''South Dakota''.

USS ''South Dakota''

The ''South Dakota'' left Pearl Harbor on October 16. On October 26, 1942, he participated in the Battle of the Santa Cruz. The ''South Dakota'' and her crew received a

Navy Unit Commendation The Navy Unit Commendation (NUC) is a United States Navy unit award that was established by order of the Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal on 18 December 1944. History Navy and U.S. Marine Corps commands may recommend any Navy or Marine Co ...

for the action. On the night of November 14–15, 1942, Graham was wounded during the

Naval Battle of Guadalcanal The Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, sometimes referred to as the Third and Fourth Battles of Savo Island, the Battle of the Solomons, the Battle of Friday the 13th, or, in Japanese sources, the , took place from 12 to 15 November 1942, and was t ...

. 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
"At 12, I Fought The Japs"
Archived November 29, 2014.King, Gilbert (December 19, 2012)
"The Boy Who Became A World War II Veteran at 13 Years Old"
, ''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 The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

, and he and his crewmates were awarded another Navy Unit Commendation. The ''South Dakota'' returned to the

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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 A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

. 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. 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, 1948–51

Graham finally joined the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in 1948 at age 17, but his enlistment in the Marines also ended early when he fell from a pier and broke his back in 1951 during the

Korean war , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Although serving in the Marine Corps qualified him as a

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

, he would spend the rest of his life fighting for full medical benefits and clearing his military service record.

Post military service

In 1978, he was finally given an

honorable discharge A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and th ...

for his service in the Navy, and after writing to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

and with the approval of President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

, all medals except his

were reinstated. His story came to public attention in 1988, when his story was told in the TV movie, ''

Too Young the Hero ''Too Young the Hero'' is a 1988 American made-for-television historical drama war film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Rick Schroder. It premiered on CBS on March 27, 1988. The film tells the true story of a 12-year-old boy who forges his ...

'' starring Rick Schroder. In 1988, he received disability benefits and back pay for his service in the Navy after President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

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. 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 John Dalton (; 5 or 6 September 1766 – 27 July 1844) was an English chemist, physicist and meteorologist. He is best known for introducing the atomic theory into chemistry, and for his research into colour blindness, which he had. Colour b ...

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, nearly two years after his death from heart failure. He was buried at Laurel Land Memorial Park in Fort Worth, Texas.

Military awards

Graham's decorations and military awards, as finally settled circa 1994 after intervention by Presidents

, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

References

External links

Lonesailer.org biography

Comptroller General of the United States: Matter of Calvin L. Graham

''Too Young the Hero''
on the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

*
People Magazine: The Navy's 'Baby' Hero...

Paul Harvey on Calvin Graham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Calvin 1930 births 1992 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Child soldiers in World War II People from Canton, Texas United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers United States Navy sailors Calvin Graham at findagrave https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10667014/calvin-leon-graham