Panmunjom (Continued) 12 UN Truce Team at Panmunjom, 1953. 13 Frank Praytor outside the press train at Munsanni, where UN correspondents were housed temporarily during the prisoner exchanges and truce signing 14 POWs returned in prisoner exchange are interviewed at news conference in “Freedom Village” delivery site 15 Elders at Seoul 16 “<strong>The</strong> Road Back” A column of Marines retiring from the MLR—and back to the U.S. eventually— after the armistice went into effect 12 13 14 60 15 16 November-December 2007 <strong>The</strong> Graybeards
William E. Cranston, a KWVA VUMS William E. Cranston, Sr. on the MLR in North Korea, 1951 Just before <strong>Veterans</strong> Day 2007 one of the major television networks did a feature on young people who joined the military in World <strong>War</strong> II when they were as young as age 12. <strong>The</strong>re were so many of them then—and during other eras—that they have their own association, VUMS (<strong>Veterans</strong> of Underage Military Service). At least one member, William E. Cranston, Sr., is also a member of the KWVA. Mr. Cranston joined the USMC at age 16, shortly after the <strong>Korean</strong> <strong>War</strong> began. He served…well, let him tell his own story. Iwas raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I was born on 23 July 1934. During my teenage years I had no direction and I was always getting intro trouble. I came home quite late one night and found my mother waiting up for me. She told me about the war that had just started in Korea. Since I was a patriotic, gung ho, American boy, I told her I was going to join the Marines. She asked. “You are only 16 years old. How are you going to do that?” I replied, “I’ll find a way.” I asked my older brother to change the date on my birth certificate to 1933 from 1934. He did, and I had a Photostatic copy made of the certificate. I went to the Marine recruiting office and handed my phony certificate to a sergeant. He looked at it, smiled, and said, “You’re OK, young man.” I was sworn into the Marines on 2 August 1950. This was a big, big change in my life. <strong>The</strong> next day I was on a train headed for San Diego, California and boot camp. From boot camp I went to Camp Pendleton for infantry training, after which I joined the 14th Replacement Draft and went to Korea. Upon my arrival in Korea, I was assigned to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. This was my home for thirteen months. During this time I was involved in quite a few skirmishes with the North <strong>Korean</strong> army and the Chinese army as well. <strong>The</strong> battle that sticks in my mind is Bunker Hill in August 1952. We had many casualties, but this young rebel didn’t get hit at all, just plenty, plenty scared. Have you ever been so scared that you urinated in your pants? This happened to me more than once. One day when we came off the line, just as we reached the rest area, an Army officer drove up in a jeep. <strong>The</strong> officer asked, “Any of you jarheads (Marines) want to take the GED tests and get your high school diploma?” I said, “I’ll take it.” I passed the test and sent the results to my mother, who took them to my old high school where they issued me a diploma. It seems rather strange that I finished high school in North Korea. I was rotated back to the states in October 1952, and I have thanked the Lord many times for bringing me back safely from Korea. I returned to Camp Pendleton and was assigned to a weapons company in the 3rd Marine Division. Less than a year later I volunteered for duty with an amphibious reconnaissance company, the first one formed after World <strong>War</strong> II. We went to Hawaii for thirteen great months. We worked from the USS Perch, a troop-carrying submarine. We also learned how to jump out of helicopters and get picked up out of the ocean. I returned to the mainland in the spring of 1954 and was discharged on 2 August 1954. I am thankful for the privilege of having served this great country of ours. I will always be grateful to the United States Marine Corps, the best outfit in the world, for taking me in as an underage, rebellious teenager, teaching me so much, and making a man out of me. How many kids my age get to do what I had done by the time I was sixteen? As a teenager I participated in three major battles in North and South Korea. I earned the Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Ribbon, <strong>Korean</strong> Service Ribbon with 3 Battle Stars, <strong>Korean</strong> Unit Citation, United Nations Ribbon, and the <strong>Korean</strong> Service Medal. I was no war hero. I just did my part without whining about it. I learned discipline and respect for my fellowman and country. I’m glad and proud I went in at an early age, and may God always bless this great country of ours! Bill Cranston returned to Minneapolis and worked for a defense plant that manufactured guided missiles for the Navy. In 1964 he started driving an 18-wheel truck for a Minneapolis grocery chain. After an injury in 1990, he retired on a disability pension. In 1991, Bill and Donna, his wife of 42years, moved to Peoria, Arizona where they now live. <strong>The</strong>y have three children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Reach him at 9151 W. Greenway Rd. #16-234, Peoria, AZ 85381-3717. 61 <strong>The</strong> Graybeards November-December 2007
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