What were you doing when you were 12? Still a youngster, you probably enjoyed games of tag and hide-and-seek with the neighborhood kids while collecting the hottest new toys to trade at school. Maybe you'd fit in a cartoon every now and then. Well, young Calvin Graham didn't mess around—he enlisted in WWII and was accepted!
Seaman First Class Calvin Graham was born April 3, 1930, making him a mere 11-years-old during the attack on Pearl Harbor.
In May of 1942, at the age of 12, he enlisted in the Navy by lying about his age. His mother later revealed his true age, and he spent three months in the brig and was dishonorably discharged in May 1943—but not before he saw some serious action.
He was wounded during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal while on board the USS South Dakota. He helped in the fire control efforts but was hit with fragmentation, causing lacerations. For his bravery and sacrifice, he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
Not only was he the youngest person to receive these awards—he was the youngest U.S. Serviceman in WWII.
