The Young Hero — The Baby Veteran

What would you do if your 12 year old child lied and left home?
Now, how would you feel if that 12 year old went to war?
And if he got wounded, mom told on him, and he was punished while still in the military?
But, then his awards were taken away and he lost all benefits because of his age, how would you feel?

Calvin Leon Graham did all that and more.
He was the youngest person to enlist in the US Navy in 1942, at age 12, following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
He was the youngest military member serving in World War II.

He served on the USS South Dakota as a gunner and was wounded in the jaw and mouth by shrapnel while his battleship suffered 47 hits. Wounded, he helped in the fire control efforts and helped pull crew members to safety. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

His mother revealed his age, he spent 3 months, including his 13th birthday, in the brig. He was stripped of his medals, lost his disability benefits, and given a dishonorable discharge for a fraudulent enlistment. He was not released until his sister threatened to contact the newspapers.

Calvin then joined the Marines at age 17, but his military career ended three years later when he fell from a pier and broke his back. He was a veteran, but had to fight for medical treatment. He eventually received an honorable discharge and his medals were reinstated, except his Purple Heart, after writing Congress and President Jimmy Carter in 1978. He received his disability benefits and back pay in 1988 under President Ronald Regan.

His Purple Heart was finally reinstated and presented to his widow, Mary, nearly two years after his death in 1992. His story was told in 1988 in a movie entitled Too Young the Hero.