Edited
By: Drs Ray D. Jackson & Susan M. Jackson
In total, there are (3) three books by Ray & Susan, the description that follows will cover all three books.
A 660-page, hardbound collection of stories relating the exploits of 199 men and women who served
in the armed
forces of the United States before they attained legal age, some as young
as 12.
The methods they used to
circumvent the system in order to enlist were varied. Some devised ingenious schemes which included
cleverly altering birth certificates or other documents, and others merely signed
up for the draft, claiming
to be 18. Many had help from recruiters and family members.
Most of the veterans completed
their military service without their true age becoming known. Of those whose ages
were discovered, many were allowed to remain with their units, others
were discharged, and some faced a court-martial for fraudulent enlistment.
The reasons these youngsters enlisted while underage are numerous
and varied, with patriotism very high on the list- To this day, these
veterans profess
a strong and unwavering love for their country and great pride in their
unique service to it.
Published by the
Veterans of Underage Military Service, the book was edited by Ray D. Jackson
and Susan M. Jackson. All of Book 1, II, & III have sold out and can only
be found in most major libraries in most major cities in the US.
See
Sampling of just “One Story” Revised 2012 by National Commander, Dr
Wm C Morgan, 2012
This Story includes William C. Morgan who enlisted into the United
States Marine Corps at age 16 in 1950 about 10 days before the Korean War started. His story follows:
I was born
into a large farm family (seven children) in Madison County,
about thirteen miles west of Columbus, Ohio
on 29 May 1934. This was during the Great Depression and my father
was recuperating from a serious accident. With medical bills piling up, things were getting financially bad for us. Without the help of insurance, my parents knew that we had
to sell, or practically give away, everything in order to survive. We moved from the farm into a small house without running water or electricity. As dad's condition continued to fail, my brothers and sisters knew we were
faced with going to a children's home. As a child I lived with a fear about
survival, something that no child needs. In 1940, my neighbor and many others
went into the CCC camps, the National Guard, the Army, the Navy, and the Marines. They ate
well in the service and were paid for doing a job, as little as the pay was, it seemed big to me. 1 would pray that someday
I could go into the military and be a sergeant.
My sister was killed in a horrible
accident in 1945, and my dad passed away four months later. We were now living in the small town of West
Jefferson, Ohio. I may have been young, but I carried newspapers to nearly everyone in West Jefferson at one
time or another. Not only did I carry newspapers, but I also read them.
At a very
young age I knew that the United States
was facing war on at least three fronts at the same time. We were involved in a cold war with Russia,
French paratroopers had just landed in Indo-China (Vietnam), and there
was great turmoil in Korea. All this had
my attention at a time when football, baseball and school should have been occupying my thoughts.
The military
reserve forces were busy recruiting, and a number of kids from West Jefferson joined up.
Three seniors from my high school joined the Marine Corps Reserve. Our football coach, Keith L Lynn a combat veteran of World War II, entered the reserves
as a second lieutenant. This got my attention in a big way. I asked the seniors many questions, all of which they were eager
to answer. I went with them to the recruiters to make my interests known. The recruiters thought that I was the same age as
the seniors. I told them that I did not have a birth certificate, but that I would be able to bring a notarized document stating
my age.
By this time
I had a stepfather and I knew that he would sign the document. My stepfather also knew a notary who was willing to notarize
the document. With the notarized document, I enlisted in the Marine Reserves for an indefinite period of time. I was sworn in on 8 June 1950 and became
a member of Charlie Company, 7th Marine Infantry Battalion, United States Marine Corps Reserve. I attended one drill before
the North Koreans crossed the 38th parallel on 25 June 1950.
That fall,
school was scheduled to start on 5 September. But on the day before it was to start, our battalion received orders to report
4 September 1950 to Camp Pendleton, California.
That meant I had to turn in my football shoes for boon dockers (combat boots). We left by
train for Camp Pendleton
and arrived there four days later. We left the train at midnight, and as we formed up, we were asked if any of us had
a critical MOS (military occupational specialty).
Four medical
corpsmen raised their hands. They were promptly fed at the mess hall and put on a plane destined
for Korea. Within ninety days, one of
the four was killed. We knew then that this was serious business.
The remainder
of our company was sorted into groups according to training needs. I was assigned to a recruit-training group along with three other men from my high school.
The coach was assigned to advanced training at Tent Camp Two. Four of us from West
Jefferson High School and twelve others headed for boot camp in San Diego.
We started training with 100 men in our platoon. Only sixty-eight finished. My football coach could have blown the
whistle on me at any time, but he didn't. He stayed in the Marine Corps and retired as a
colonel.
One month
before I graduated from boot camp, a 17-year-old Marine was killed in Korea.
The Commandant of the Marine Corps put out an order that no Marine under the age of 18 would be assigned to a combat zone.
Most of the graduates of my boot platoon were sent to Camp
Pendleton for advanced training, then sent on to Korea. Since my records indicated that I was 17, I reported to the 1st Automatic
Weapons Battalion, FMF Pac (Fleet Marine Force, Pacific). We were assigned cold-weather training and got to sleep on the snow
at 39° below zero. Some of us were involved with making military movies. I was in one called "Close Air Support." We were dressed as Chinese soldiers and manned our 40mm and quad-50 guns.
In the fall
of 1951, Brigadier General Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller came to Camp
Pendleton to form the 3rd Marine Brigade. I had the honor of carrying
the guide on (Platoon Flag) and to report front and center with the general at the ceremony where he was awarded his 5th Navy
Cross. The spirit on that parade ground was greater than at the Ohio State/Michigan football game.
I did quite
well as a Marine and was promoted to corporal after six months. Six months later I was a sergeant, the rank I had aspired
to as a boy. Several of us were selected to attend the new Atomic Warfare School. This sounded very exciting to us. We
received numerous lectures about the atomic bomb. We learned about neutrons, protons,
plutonium, uranium and gamma rays until we would dream about them in our sleep. We never questioned what this stuff was all about. Finally, we were told that we would be the first troops to be used in the A-bomb test at Yucca Flats, Nevada
during the summer of 1952.
Six weeks
before we were to go to Yucca Flats, my time on active duty was up. It was my choice to stay or return home to the reserve unit. I chose to go home. I was released
from active duty on 9 April 1952. I returned to West Jefferson High School, played football, kissed
the homecoming queen, and later married her. I stayed in the Marine Reserves for fifteen years then switched to the Air Guard
Component of the US Air Force where I was assigned to Combat Crew Communications and later was assigned to Civil Engineers
as a member of a Rapid Runway Repair Team (RRR-Team) where we were on call to be anywhere in the world within 28 hours. I retired as a Master Sergeant in 1986.
Early on
at Camp Pendleton, CA I met Frank Dowden from Minnesota,
a young man in my platoon who was from Minnesota. Forty-five
years later, I learned that he too was an underage veteran and a member of the Veterans of Underage Military Service.
In the year
of 2000, I learned that two other members of Charley Company that I was activated with in 1950 would be identified as VUMS
i.e., Ed Andrix and Harley Landrum. Further, while serving (1982) with the Civil Engineers in the Air Guard, I met Joe White
another VUMS to be.
Tom Planinc,
is a buddy from boot camp and friends from early 1950 that I remain in contact with today.
Other friends include the following: Howard Dahlheimer, Jim Bernardini,
Ed Andrix, Ed Emery, Jack Kelly, Bob Stought, Lowell Cummins, Irvin DeNoon and Harley Landrum.
All has remained my friends for life. I could write a book about the interesting
people I met during my time in the military. Harley Landrum and I not only served
in the Marines together but we also attended College together for a couple of Years.
While attending College I met other fellow Marines that I had served with including Orchel Krier of Modesto CA and Dick Holycross a recipient of the Silver
Star our nations 3rd highest medal for combat service. All of these
old friends except the late Orchel Krier or Dick Holycross whom was killed in Vietnam
in 1967 remained in my yearly contact until about 2008. In a few cases, I remain
in contact with their family members.
In the year
of 2005, just 55 years after boot camp graduation, I went to New Jersey
and met my Drill Instructor, Sgt Joe Annese. Yes, I revealed that I had been underage at the time.
Bill Morgan attended California Coast University
and received a B.S. in 1981 and an M.B.A. in 1982 and a Doctorate Degree in Business (D.B.A) in 2004.
He led a dual life as a reservist with
a civilian career in the industrial field. He was involved with the start-up of industrial plants ranging in cost from one
million to two billion dollars. He held positions from the first level of production scheduling to general manager. For several years his work included heavy-machinery rigging
throughout the United States and overseas.
While working in South America, Bill was
the Foreign Guest of Honor in the City of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was
installed in the British Royal Marines in 1997 as the first foreigner ever to be accepted in the Lodge of Glamorgan, Wales.
During the year of 2000 Bill was installed
in the Hall of Heroes in Branson, MO.
Bill and Ann, his wife of fifty nine
years, live in Galloway, Ohio. They have three children,
five grandchildren and three great grand children and soon another one.
SEE
MORE VUMS BOOKS by Click Books on the left Margin.
