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2008

Children at War: Underage Americans Illegally Fighting the Second Children at War: Underage Americans Illegally Fighting the Second

World War World War

Joshua Pollarine

https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/191

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CHILDREN AT WAR:

UNDERAGE AMERICANS ILLEGALLY FIGHTING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

B.A. History, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown, Pennsylvania, 2003

Thesis

Dr. Harry Fritz

Department of History

Dr. Jeff Wiltse

Department of History

ii

themselves and primary source documents, intertwined with the minimal amount of

secondary source material written on children in contemporary armed conflict, and

secondary sources relevant to the period studied.

The thesis introduces the unintended legacy constructed of underage Americans fighting

America’s wars throughout its history leading up to the Second World War. The research

then examines the experiences of America’s underage war veterans who actively

participated in World War Two, specifically addressing the difficulties they faced in

enlisting illegally underage in the armed forces of the United States, how they succeeded

in achieving their goal, their motivations for enlisting underage, and their experiences at

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1

On the morning of 21 July 1944, Carl Reddeck was in a landing craft en route to

Guam. He was part of the third wave of United States Marines headed in for the invasion

of the island. As the Marines looked out ahead, they could see the flat surface of the

beach give way to steep verdant hills that rose to a near vertical ridge at the top. That

Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, he was eager to join in the fight. He first attempted to

enlist in the Navy, but was rejected. Undeterred, Reddeck went to the Marines and was

accepted. He was sworn into the service on 28 May 1942. Five months later, he was in

combat on Guadalcanal. He survived the campaign, but succumbed to tropical fever in

July 1943. After recuperating in a hospital on New Caledonia that summer, he was

Both of these young Marines were seasoned veterans by the time they were

headed to Guam. Experience made the impending invasion no less intimidating. As they

neared the beach, one of the Marines in the craft, ammunition carrier Lloyd Martin,

pulled out some photographs and started looking at them. Glenn reprimanded him. The

Marines were supposed to leave all personal effects in their sea bags aboard ship, to carry

2

Reddeck, Glenn, and the rest of the Marines in their landing craft took little

enemy fire during the landing. The Marines were surprised. Some figured the ridge they

were assigned to take proved such a formidable obstacle, even the Japanese did not

bother to defend it. Met with scant resistance, the Marines started the ascent to their

other. Within moments somebody hollered to Glenn that his buddy Reddeck was hit.

Under heavy fire, he crawled over to his comrade. Glenn tore open Reddeck’s jacket to

see where he was wounded. Blood poured from an opening in Reddeck’s chest where a

round had hit him at the base of the sternum. Glenn frantically fumbled for his first aid

kit and pulled out a bandage as his best friend lay bleeding to death before him. All for

Seaman Dudley Brown was at the front of a Landing Craft, Vehicle and Personnel

(LCVP) on the morning of 6 June 1944, manning the controls to the ramp. When he

dropped it, he would be as exposed as the troops he was unloading. His LCVP was in the

third wave, headed for Omaha Beach, soon to be the deadliest invasion beach in

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unload the troops, Brown saw some of the men he had just unloaded collapse as they

charged ashore, wounded or worse. He hauled in the ramp and they pulled off the beach,

headed back to their ship to load more soldiers for another run. Dudley Brown had been

in the service just seven months. D-Day was his baptism by fire. He was sixteen.

man that the law required him to register for the draft three months prior to his eighteenth

birthday. As punishment, they ordered immediate induction into the Army and escorted

him to the Army induction center.

Snaper arrived in France in late November 1944, as a replacement. Within weeks

he was in combat at the frozen battleground of Bastogne. Due to soaring attrition rates

Joseph Argenzio also appealed to his local draft board. His father served with

distinction in the First World War in the Army’s First Division, the Big Red One.

Growing up in the shadow of his father’s service, Argenzio wanted nothing more than to

serve his country as his father had, with distinction and valor. Little did Argenzio know

that at age sixteen he would be one of the youngest members of the United States armed

4

No records exist to confirm Argenzio as the youngest to land during the first

waves of the invasion of Normandy. In fact, none of these men who served their country

underage existed to the military. No one under the age of seventeen legally joined the

armed forces of the United States during World War Two. There is no record of their

soldiers, citizens of the United States illegally fighting the Second World War.

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unfortunate ones were not as lucky. Caught serving underage, they were discharged for

lying about their age, a fraudulent enlistment. Even these records are sparse. Calvin

Graham joined at age 12, served with distinction in the Navy, was awarded the Bronze

Star for valor and a Purple Heart. When an executive officer learned his true age,

Graham was stripped of his medals, his military record, even his uniform. Not until

thirty-two years after World War Two were his medals reinstated, with the exception of

his Purple Heart. Forty years after the war, he received his disability benefits. Two years

after his death, the Navy presented his widow with his Purple Heart. It is because the

historical record is largely devoid of these stories that this project was undertaken. The

stories of underage Americans illegally fighting the Second World War need to be told.

combat veterans. For approximately every six soldiers in World War Two, only one

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in his journal, “[w]hile the ship was crowded with prisoners they planned a mutiny.”

Espying the situation, Farragut immediately reported to the ship’s captain who raised the

alarm of fire, sending the mutineers into confusion and allowing the loyal crew to regain

control of the ship. Even in his youthfulness, Farragut maintained a faithful attention to

and in April of that year sent to New York aboard an unarmed ship. Farragut’s active sea

duty was over. He returned home from war at the age of twelve.

Following the War of 1812, the Navy ended the practice of issuing warrants as

midshipmen to those under age twelve. In 1824, the Navy and Congress worked together

in an effort to establish an apprentice program for those aged thirteen to sixteen wishing

minimum age – raised to fourteen in 1855, then lowered back to thirteen in 1865. Over

the next fifteen years, the minimum age was raised and lowered three more times, to

fourteen in 1870, fifteen in 1875, and back to fourteen in 1880, highlighting the

difficulty, even 150 years ago, the military had with a minimum enlistment age and

underage recruits.

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The Marine Corps utilized underage soldiers early in American history, having

established a music apprentice program for recruits at the turn of the nineteenth century.

In June 1800, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Major William Ward Burrows,

wrote a request for boys not exceeding age twelve, and with their parents’ consent, to be

The young Marine musicians actively served in war. When Marines landed, the

fifers and drummers went to the field with them, attached as the field music section.

William Graham enlisted as a drummer in 1801 at the age of twelve and served in the

War with Tripoli. David Coleman served aboard the John Adams in the War of 1812 at

age sixteen. Five Marine boys accompanied a detachment of Marines sent from the

children at war.

The American Civil War could be considered the epitome of underage Americans

at war. Although no concrete figures exist, conservative estimates place more than

200,000 soldiers of the Civil War at age sixteen and under – a full ten to twenty percent

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years old. Although young soldiers maintained the traditional role of musicians – as

drummers and the more recent development of buglers – in the service, many underage

volunteers engaged in combat and served with distinction during the war. At least six

received the Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest award for valor. One fortunate aspect

War. At the age of nine, his first two attempts to join the military were refused, first by

the Army proper and then by the Third Ohio Volunteer Regiment. Finally accepted as an

unofficial drummer boy for the 22nd Michigan, he was more of a camp follower than a

soldier and appeared on no official muster rolls. His military career was off to an

inauspicious start, but all that soon changed.

“Johnny Shiloh won’t run! Don’t let a boy and his general stand here and fight alone!”

The Union held its position at Pittsburg Landing long enough for reinforcements to arrive

the following morning to turn the tide of battle and emerge victorious at Shiloh. For his

valiant stand that day, the “Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” as he was later called, was

rewarded with a valid enlistment in the United States Army. He was ten years old.

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John Clem went on to fight in many of the most grueling campaigns of the war.

He fought at Chickamauga, Perryville, Stone River, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, and

Nashville. At age twelve he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. For a time, he served

as Grant’s personal messenger, and after the war was nominated for West Point by the

Robert Henry Hendershot was another youth who had trouble joining the war, but

after persistent efforts eventually succeeded. At the age of twelve, Hendershot persuaded

the captain of troops stationed in his home town of Jackson, Michigan, to allow him to

play drum rolls for recruits. When it came time for the soldiers to depart for battle, the

temporary drummer was refused permanent assignment on account of his small stature.

the youth escaped while the man tended to his duties. Hendershot hopped a train to

Indianapolis and eventually caught up with his surrogate regiment. Yet again, the captain

was infuriated and ordered the child home, but Hendershot appealed to the captain of

another company in camp and finally obtained enlistment as a drummer.

Hendershot served with an almost dangerous alacrity. At Murfreesboro,

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up a rifle. A Confederate colonel came too close to the building and Hendershot shot him

dead, in full view of the enemy and the townsfolk. The Confederates soon set fire to the

courthouse, forcing the beleaguered troops to surrender. The Union prisoners were

marched out of town. Perhaps seeing an advantage in his youth, Hendershot feigned a

Injured in his effort, conveniently alluding to the unintentional nature of the accident, he

escaped further punishment. Hendershot fled captivity during a rainstorm that night.

Hendershot’s underage military career was full of youthful escapades and

dangerous encounters. He often disobeyed orders, one time nearly getting himself killed.

After torching and plundering houses near Fredricksburg, Maryland, Hendershot captured

to stay in camp and ordered him to remain there. Shortly thereafter, the roar of combat

across the Rappahannock lured the boy from camp, in direct disobedience of orders.

Charging into battle, Hendershot took a ball in the leg, suffering a broken limb.

Fortunately for the youth, he was evacuated back across the river.

Hendershot spent his recovery at Burnside’s home in Rhode Island. After a brief

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found himself back on the lines, this time as a noncombatant. Again, his eagerness for

action got the better of him. He volunteered as a spy for the army. During an exploit

across the lines, Hendershot was captured and imprisoned. Within three weeks he

escaped and returned to friendly territory. Undaunted, he continued to spy for the army,

At age eleven years and eleven months, Musician Willie Johnston is the youngest

American to ever earn his nation’s highest commendation, the Medal of Honor. Serving

with Company D, 3rd Vermont Infantry, Johnston received the award for “Gallantry in

the Seven Days’ Fight and Peninsular Campaign, May-June 1862.”

He endured days of

intense combat, artillery bombardments, and all-night marches through mud. Through it

three other boys determined to join in the fight for the Union. At age thirteen, he left

home “without money or a warning to my parents.”

The boys boarded a steamer

departing the border state of Kentucky, headed for Cincinnati. At the sound of the ship’s

bell announcing departure, Horsfall’s companions, “having a change of heart, ran ashore

before the plank was hauled aboard, and wanted me to do the same.”

He did not. He

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stayed in hiding aboard the ship until it was well under way, and then ventured out to the

deck. Accosted by the captain as to his destination, Horsfall told him “the old orphan-

boy story.” From then on he was treated kindly, fed, and allowed liberal privileges en

route to the boat’s destination.

fight as a sharpshooter. While he was serving in this capacity, acting as an independent

sharpshooter to the right of his regiment in the fighting near Corinth, Mississippi, on 21

May 1862, his unit made a desperate charge across a ravine. Horsfall witnessed his

captain, Williamson, fall wounded in the attack. The enemy repulsed the assault, sending

the Union troops into retreat. Captain Williamson was left between the lines, wounded

bullets. Williamson was lucky that day. The child soldier reached his side, and, with his

four-foot three-inch frame, dragged the full grown man back to stretcher bearers who

evacuated the captain to the rear. Heralded as a hero and awarded the Medal of Honor,

Horsfall replied he was “only obeying the lieutenant’s orders.”

fourteen.

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Gwynne went straight to officers about to take their men to the field, begging any of them

for permission to join. One officer was so favorably impressed with the young man’s

desire to serve his country that he allowed Gwynne to accompany his command. From

that point forward, Gwynne served unofficially as a private in the Thirteenth Ohio

noticed Gwynne in line and reminded him that he was not officially mustered in;

therefore, it would be best for him to stay behind. The young man replied, “But that’s not

what I’m here for!”

charge and the cavalry surged forward, Gwynne with them, headed straight for the enemy

battery.

veered off course and turned back toward the enemy, galloping at full speed. Those who

witnessed the event thought the soldier had lost control of his horse; but then wondered

whether the soldier himself had snapped, as they realized he held the reigns tightly in his

hands. Fifteen-year-old Nathaniel Gwynne executed a one-man charge directly into the

mouths of the Confederate cannons and headed straight for the captured standard, bullets

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from the enemy infantry snapping past. Wrenching the colors from the hands of the

rebels, Gwynne turned his horse and fled back to his lines.

He did not make it far when the arm holding the flag was shot away, nearly torn

from its socket. No sooner had the flag hit the ground than Gwynne halted his horse,

to them and fell unconscious to the ground.”

His devotion to his flag that day earned him the Medal of Honor. What is more,

as a reward for his actions, Gwynne was placed on the muster-roll of the Thirteenth Ohio

Cavalry.

ranks. Although at times unquestionably young – pre-teens serving their country in

combat – those on the record served their country unfailingly, often with distinction and

valor. However, with the military evolution of the American Civil War, and the

increasing modernization of warfare, the roles of soldiers in the military changed, along

with laws and regulations regarding youth in the service. Boys with drums and fifes were

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steel ships of war, on a scale never seen before, would sail the seas, command sixteen-

inch rifled cannons and man quadruple-barreled forty-millimeter automatic weapons.

The day of the boy soldier was over. Or was it?

Simply because they could not serve legally does not mean they did not want to;

legal age continued to join the service. The United States military still needed men, and

those under the legal age for enlistment still wanted to serve.

With America’s entry into the First World War on 6 April 1917, sixteen-year-old

Frank Buckles determined to serve his country. He deferred his attempt to join until

summer vacation from school, at which time, while attending the Kansas State Fair in

one, he made it as far as a physical examination but was denied for being underweight.

An attempt to join the Navy resulted in a rejection for flat feet. He decided to try another

locale, hopefully with better luck.

Buckles headed to Oklahoma City. Again, he was rejected by the Navy and

Marines. He tried the Army and was asked for a birth certificate. Claiming that his home

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Others employed more elaborate means to change their documents. Daniel Kriss

used a doctored birth certificate to join the Navy at age fourteen. The only implement he

had available was ink eradicator, which when applied, Kriss recalled, the “paper became

like a blotter.” The process soon became more than a “simple alteration of changing an

courthouse to obtain a typewritten copy of his birth certificate, signed by the county

clerk. He subsequently took the form to his high school typing room, “did a lot of

practice and put a lot of effort into it,” attempting to get it the best he could, “and it

turned out good!” He changed his birth date from 1927 to 1925 and handed it to the

Navy recruiter. Still only seventeen after the change of date – not wanting to make it

secretary, to change the last number in his birth year from 1928 to 1926. His friend

“easily changed the ‘8’ to a ‘6’ with her typewriter.” Accepted as proof of age, at the

actual age of fifteen he was sworn in to the United States Navy.

Even employing elaborate forgeries did not always work. If some of these

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assistants to underage enlistments. Sometimes recruiters turned a blind eye, or even

aided in the recruits’ efforts. At age sixteen, John Collins, after coercing his father to

sign for him, altered his older brother’s birth certificate and used it to join the Marine

Corps. His older brother had joined the Corps at age seventeen. Subsequently, Collins

station. Even with the creative effort, upon submittal to the Marines, the recruiting

sergeant detected Collins’ forgery. Called on it, Collins “lied like hell and said that’s the

way it always was.” Fortunately for his purposes, however, the recruiter noted the

change, but, “as they were wont to do in those days, they had to meet their recruiting

quota, and he walked away.” Of course, Collins had his own certificate with his real age,

Although his initial intent was to join the paratroopers, the Army would not accept him

without proof of age. A Marine recruiter, however, believed his lie. He told the sergeant

he was sixteen, would be seventeen in a month, and wanted to get his papers ready so he

could enlist on his seventeenth birthday – a legal enlistment. In turn, the recruiter

inquired as to whether Waters’ parents would sign if he rearranged Waters’ birthday.

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his enlistment until he was overseas, when he wrote his mother and told her that he had

joined the Marines. His mother responded, offering to get Waters out of the service on a

minority discharge. He replied, stating that was something he did not want.

J. Armand Burgun had no intention of joining the military underage when he

Accompanying his friend, Burgun was also given a set of forms to fill out. “Being too

shy to refuse,” Burgun complied.

asked for a birth certificate, but being obviously unprepared, the recruiter accepted

Burgun’s assurance that he would bring it to the physical examination the following

week. When he returned and they asked him if he had proof of age, he told them he had

the age of sixteen, nobody even asked him for the document.

Jack Lawson, at thirteen-years-old, five-foot-nine and 112 pounds, received some

helpful advice from a sergeant upon induction at Fort McPherson. The sergeant in charge

said ‘boy, you look like you would make a good soldier,’ to which Lawson replied “I

don’t want to be a soldier, I want to be a sailor.” The sergeant told him to “go get two or

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three pounds of bananas and a gallon of milk. Eat breakfast in the morning – be there at

five-thirty – and before you come here at nine o’clock, pile in those bananas and drink all

the milk you can drink. All we have to do is weigh you and have the dentist look at your

teeth.” Lawson weighed in at 116 pounds, one pound over the 115 limit.

five pounds of bananas to eat on his way to induction at Raleigh, North Carolina.

McCarson passed, but “threw up from Raleigh to Parris Island, South Carolina.” He

spent his first four days in the Corps in sick bay. After this experience, he “didn’t eat

another banana for twenty years.”

Parker Miller took a different view of the role of recruiters. A fifteen-year-old

However, in his estimation he recalled, “in January 1943, they needed bodies, and they

needed them bad. No matter how tall, how skinny, how fat you were, you were in.”

Underage soldiers of World War Two received the most assistance in their efforts

from the least likely source – their own parents. A child confronting its parents with the

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their child’s demands. The reasons for their decision to aid in their child’s underage

enlistment differed. They agreed to sign with varying degrees of willingness, some even

unwittingly. A few fathers, themselves veterans of the last war, supported their child’s

spirit and enthusiasm for the military. Other parents, faced with a school dropout or

underage child there still remained no chance of their son gaining admittance to the

military. They understood that the service would not accept anyone under the age of

seventeen; it was the law, after all. This proved to be a misconception.

At age fifteen, Brown asked his parents if they would sign for him to join the

Navy and they rebuffed his request. Determined, he took his original birth certificate to

was instantly older. He went to the Navy recruiter and received the forms for his parents

to sign. Brown gave the papers to his parents, but they still refused. Leaving the room,

he overheard his father say to his mother, “‘go ahead and sign, he’s not going to get in the

Navy anyway.’” They signed, and they were wrong. Before he left to return the papers

to the Navy, he asked for assurance from his father, “if I get in, you are going to let me

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Parents were hesitant, for obvious reasons. Willie Manson, having made up his

mind to join the Navy underage, begged his mother to let him join. His pleas were met

with a firm, “No, you are too young.” He subsequently “cried so long that she relented.”

Asked by a Navy recruiter whether he was sure he was seventeen, he answered “yes” and

Jowdy determined to join the Navy. When he informed his father of his intentions, his

father jokingly told the boy he would sign for him on his birthday. He soon learned how

serious his son was. Jowdy pestered his father continuously until his birthday, 19 July

1942, over half a year later. Before leaving for work that day, Jowdy’s father told his son

he would meet him at the post office in San Antonio, Texas, to sign the papers. As

and Jowdy boarded a bus for Houston, Texas, to be sworn into the United States Navy on

his fifteenth birthday.

Getting parents’ signatures on enlistment papers often took a good deal of

persuasion, but sometimes it also involved a bit of stretching the truth. Charles Hohl

tried to enlist in the Navy at age sixteen, but was refused because of poor eyesight.

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Sent out the door, he went across the street and joined the Army. Hohl told the recruiter

he was eighteen and that he would get his parents’ signatures. He took the papers home

and explained to his mother that they made a mistake in his birth date, and he would take

care of it in the morning. His parents believed him and signed the papers. Instead of

soon became disenchanted with his assignment guarding the Golden Gate Bridge. After

inquiring whether his unit would be shipping out any time soon, he was told that it would

not be going anywhere. Figuring the Japanese were not going to invade anytime soon, he

went absent without leave from his unit to join the United States Navy. Young McManus

related his predicament to his mother. He told her he was “in big time trouble,” that he

age of fifteen.

Parents knew their sons, much to their chagrin at times. At age sixteen and a

sophomore in high school, William Almquist turned in his books and decided to join the

Navy. Determined to join with or without his mother’s permission, he went home and

told her as much. She complied.

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Jack Lucas’s mother instilled patriotism in him from as early as he could

remember. Nevertheless, when he confronted her about joining the military at age

fourteen, she “was aghast” at his request and “refused to sign the required consent

forms.” She told him, “I only have two children and I don’t want to lose you.”

She did,

concerned. He bluntly stated, “I will see, feel, hear, and do nothing until I am allowed to

join the service. My education can be completed later. Might as well let me go.”

Knowing her son as she did, she did not underestimate the measure of his resolve, but

still refused to lie for her child. Lucas forged her signature with her knowledge. As he

departed, and “with tears in her eyes, she embraced me and wished me well.”

On 6

year-old son, his mother tried to alter it herself, and, surprisingly, botched the job.

“Looking back, her heart probably was not in it.” Undeterred, Craig found his baptismal

certificate and forged it himself. His mother consented after that.

Billie Boyd faced a different challenge with his parents. Boyd skipped the first

grade and graduated from high school at the age of sixteen. After graduation he was

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the First World War, refused his son’s request to sign consent forms, telling him to “take

it easy for a while.” Appealing to his mother, she agreed to talk to the recruiter, and with

Boyd’s high school principal acting in his father’s stead, the three went to the Army

recruiting office with the sole intent of collecting information on what the Army Air

Other veteran fathers supported their child’s decision to join the military. Parker

Miller’s father served in the Army during the First World War and was gassed in France.

When Miller intimated his intent to join underage, his father “kind of pushed [me] to go

ahead and leave the farm work and protect our country.”

In 1943, he joined the Navy at

age fifteen.

son’s decision, his father managed to pacify his mother enough that “she didn’t make a

big stink about it.”

There were ulterior motives for some parents to accept the decision of their child.

Robert Jenkins grew up under the care of his grandmother. When he went to join the

Navy at age sixteen, he was given a telegram to send to his father, requesting Jenkins’

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age and whether the boy had his father’s permission to join the Navy. “Two telegrams

went out that day. The second one asked my father to answer the chief’s questions in the

affirmative.” Frantic phone calls ensued between his father and grandmother.

Eventually, “they all voted me in and sent the required answers to the Navy.” His

trouble with law. Arrested and handcuffed, a police officer walked him home with pistol

drawn. His mother answered the door. The officer stated bluntly, “‘Ms. Glenn, if you

don’t do something about this guy, we’ll wind up shooting him one day.’” As Glenn

recalled, “that scared my mother very bad. So when it came down to signing for the

Marine Corps, she figured that may be the best way to solve the problem.” He enlisted in

age fourteen, he sprinkled water on a birth certificate to make it look damaged and then

changed the birth date. The Navy did not even consider the forgery, it was so poor. The

second time, Zei “did a little better job” and made it past the local recruiter, but was

rejected when he went for a physical examination. Running out of options, he went to the

courthouse to get a birth certificate, and “lo and behold,” they gave him the birth date of

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aware of unfortunate events in young Lawson’s life. His father had recently been

murdered, leaving Lawson’s mother to provide for Jack and his three sisters. In his

words, “I always thought she had been a very humanitarian type woman.” She allowed

him to register for the draft five years before he could legally do so. As he prepared for

birth date.” Indeed, his former teacher did know him, and she also knew he was thirteen.

To the United States Navy, Jack Lawson was an eighteen-year-old draftee.

Underage recruits of the Second World War faced difficult barriers to overcome

in their attempt to gain admittance to the military illegally. Their methods varied greatly.

They were assisted in their efforts as well. Recruiters helped bend the rules for

eager patriots, told them to fill up on bananas to gain weight and ignored poorly forged

documents, or even aided in altering birth dates. A surprising number of parents

consented to their child joining underage, although most did not condone it. They signed

because they knew the determination of their children, allowed them to enlist because

45

Eventually they succeeded, some even after multiple rejections. Undaunted, they

kept trying, determined to serve their country. After all the trouble to join the military

underage, even at the risk of breaking the law, the question emerges as to motivation.

Why break the law to enter a war, to go through all that trouble to put oneself in harm’s

46

Fight. They posit, “Trying to analyze human behavior and identify the specific factors or

incidents that lead to one course of action rather than another is inevitably a complex and

somewhat unsatisfactory process. Few things in life are so clear-cut that there is one

single explanation for them.”

However, common threads can be discerned in weaving

together testimonies from those who participated in war underage. Broad categorizations

emerge to explain why individuals chose to join.

Brett and Specht cite seven categories which they term “environmental factors,”

conditions that are necessary, but not sufficient, reasons for involvement. They are war,

poverty, education and employment, family and friends, politics and ideology, specific

features of adolescence, and culture and tradition.

Some, but not all of these factors

47

comparing adult attitudes to adolescent ideals, it does not explain why most underage

soldiers of the Second World War willingly left their enrollment in school to enlist in the

military. The contention is better suited to identifying a parent’s rationale in consenting

to the underage enlistment of their child than the motives of underage volunteers

be employed as tools of military and political forces to expose children to specific

agendas.

Germany or other authoritarian states in the period leading up to the Second World War,

but it was not a primary catalyst for underage enlistment in the United States. In fact,

only two underage veterans interviewed, Billie Boyd and Charles Owens, cited an

diplomas should they wish to enlist. They declined, but the offer existed.

Charles Owens had a more direct influence. He was in junior high school when

Pearl Harbor was bombed. The next day the school principal called all the students to the

school gym and “told us they declared war, gave us all a pep talk, and got us all excited.”

Complementing the excitement was Owens’ woodshop teacher, a Marine Corps veteran

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that Owens chose the Marines because of his teacher. At no time, however, did anyone

within the environment of education advocate his underage enlistment.

The categorization of the specific features of adolescence is easily conflated with

other factors influencing underage involvement in war. Adolescence is a formative

adolescent’s immediate environment and society, all factors aid in shaping the attitudes

of impressionable youths. Brett and Specht note that adolescents “will try to adopt

behavior and/or appearance that conform to the ideal style of the moment.”

this does not stand alone without further delineation of what that moment entails.

The first among the factors is an obvious consideration that is often overlooked,

Ram were two who joined the peacetime military, but it was war that kept them there.

Mike Ryan enlisted in the Army at age sixteen on 19 February 1941. He quit

school in the tenth grade to attempt gainful employment but could not find a job. Two

other friends were in a similar situation, so the three decided to join the Army with hopes

of assignment to Alaska. The recruiting sergeant informed them that there were no spots

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arrived in April 1941, and was assigned to a twelve-inch mortar battery. Of the 100 men

in the battery, “there were four of us that were not old enough to be there.”

months later and just hours after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese launched

offensives in the South Pacific. Ryan had recently returned to his unit following a

three years, three months, and nine days of his youth as a prisoner of the Japanese.

In 1940, sixteen-year-old Walter Ram dropped out of school to join the Army.

Born in 1923, he submitted a baptismal certificate he altered to read a birth year of 1921.

The reason he gave for joining was that he was “very adventurous.” He wanted “to go

see more of the world than what we were seeing in our small town.”

Ram enlisted for

1942, just weeks after the attacks on Pearl Harbor, Ram volunteered for the Army once

more, but this time he signed up for the Army Air Forces. The presence of war had

brought him back.

Enlistments underage during peacetime, however, were few in comparison with

the numbers that joined following the attacks on Pearl Harbor. With the outbreak of war

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underage enlistments increased exponentially, as illustrated in the previous chapter,

proving that the very presence of a war was a motivating factor. Directly linked to war,

and specifically in relation to World War Two, are political and ideological

considerations. The overwhelming majority of underage Americans who served during

to rally around the flag. In the words of the President, “America was suddenly and

deliberately attacked.” Roosevelt further emphasized the meaning of the attacks, “There

is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave

danger.”

extending overseas.

in what they are fighting for,” whether it is “religious freedom, ethnic or political liberty,

or a general desire for social justice.”

speech given to Congress, on 6 January 1941, where he detailed “four essential human

freedoms.” His freedoms included speech and expression, freedom of every person to

worship God in his own way, freedom from want, and freedom from fear – “that no

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nation should be in a position to commit an act of aggression against any neighbor—

anywhere in the world.”

Adolescents learning of the news that Sunday in December may not have fully

understood the ramifications of the attack, but as they witnessed the mobilization of a

joined the military in a flurry of patriotism. This is the fundamental difference that

makes underage soldiers of World War Two exceptional. Their ideal of patriotism, of

doing their part for their country, was such a strong ideological conviction that they were

willing to risk their lives for the cause.

The ideal of patriotism was so firm a belief that for most it transcended

was “a very patriotic young man. My country was at war. I did not need any other

motivation!”

Mike Singer stated plainly that patriotism was the primary factor in his

decision to join the Marines at the age of fifteen just weeks after Pearl Harbor. Joseph

Argenzio noted the ideals of patriotism that had been instilled in him from an early age.

When he decided to join the service, his thought was “God and Country,” and that was

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enough. Robert Brandt acknowledged he was very patriotic. He wanted to “get in there

and help the fight.”

William Almquist, at sixteen, affirmed he was very patriotic as well, yet described

his motivation in a bit more detail. He looked at a map of Japan, “and it wasn’t very big,

joined in June 1944, at age fifteen. Alvin Snaper was also afraid the war would be over

before he could get in and do his part. In April 1944, when he managed to get himself

drafted, he referred to his enthusiasm as “a youngster’s patriotism.”

John Collins recalled, “I was afraid the war would be over before I could even

finish graduating.”

shrapnel and evacuated. In remembering why he joined, his patriotic idealism echoed the

sentiments of many: “Hell, it was the thing to do.”

Patriotism emerges first and foremost among motivating factors for underage

veterans joining the military during the Second World War, but it was often intertwined

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with other influences. America erupted in a fit of patriotism with the outbreak of war,

much like the contemporary example of the United States following the terrorist attacks

of 11 September 2001; but the young men who lied about their age to join still serve as

the exception. Significantly, it was patriotism coupled with other factors that pushed

“provide the individual with a framework through which to observe and interpret what is

happening.”

friends, is an important concept to consider when attempting to understand the

motivations of young people to become combatants.

Culture and tradition then, are

expanded to include the environmental factors of the influences of family and friends

peer pressure,” including beliefs that “they will have fun and adventure.”

While not necessarily pressured by their peers, those who joined underage

witnessed their peers going off to war. Men left their homes throughout America to join

the military, whether through the draft or enlistment. Those underage saw many of their

friends and classmates who were of legal age join the service. Close relatives also served

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poverty and broken homes. Brett and Specht attach great significance to poverty in

claiming “it is a major environmental factor,” “perhaps the most obvious common feature

of child soldiers.”

America was in the throes of the Great Depression in the period leading up to the

was not until after the war that America was finally able to stand firmly on its feet and

take great strides toward an economic boom. Young children growing up during the

Depression and coming of age at the outbreak of war were cognizant enough to recognize

the hardships their families faced, yet realized they were too young to set out on their

own and make a career, especially considering the bleak economic situation in the early

income, seemed a promising prospect. America’s involvement in the war and the need

for great numbers of young men to fight it proved a perfect storm of sorts for those

desiring to join underage. They could serve their country and their families in their time

of need.

Robert Brandt recalled overhearing his father speaking with his mother one day

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winter closing in. Brandt remembered thinking, “the poor guy, he worked any little job

he could find, but jobs were really hard to find.” He made up his mind, “I wasn’t going

to be a drag to them.” It became an obsession. When contemplating joining the military,

Brandt stated, “that obsession was probably the biggest reason” for his joining at age

during World War Two. Bracken and Petty postulate, “the family may in fact influence

the child’s recruitment, because it needs the income.”

that point. He was one of four children growing up under the care of a single mother.

His mother never said anything to her children about their financial circumstances, but

Glenn knew, “we were in kind of bad shape.” His mother could not work because of

of money to send to his family convinced both him and his mother that joining the

military would be a beneficial course of action, even though he was only fifteen.

William Almquist gave a comparable motive for joining the Navy at age sixteen.

With three other brothers for his parents to raise, he placed priority on “the money I could

make as an allotment for my family.”

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mouth to feed at home, and clothe.” Further, he stated, “even on that meager pay,” he

was able to save enough to give his mother “some money for the house bills.”

John

Taylor, in discussing his motivations to join the Marine Corps at age sixteen, recalled that

with three kids at home, his father was “a little bit hard pressed for money.” When

when he was four months old, leaving his share-cropping father to raise six boys. He

recalled that his father was relatively poor, and as a growing young man, Hammett

acknowledged “it seemed I couldn’t get enough to eat.” At age fifteen, Hammett decided

the Navy could help solve that problem.

had heard people say “if you want three square meals, join the Navy. “So,” he stated

left their home in Abilene, Texas, and moved to California; his father remarried and also

moved away. McCoy ended up living with an older brother until his brother was drafted

in June 1942. After his brother left, McCoy was on his own at age fifteen, the only

member of his family remaining in his home town, living in a rented room. He accepted

his situation in stating plainly, “I had a broken home.” Compounding the problem,

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“choices were few during those tough times.” The military held the prospect of a home

and an income. When contemplating joining the service, he noted “I was available and I

was interested in doing it, and so I did it.” McCoy joined the Navy in November 1942,

five months after his brother was drafted.

seven at night. He recalled that he grew up “pretty much on my own,” his mother having

to sacrifice their family life just so they could get by. With little parental direction,

Flores dropped out of the seventh grade and soon became involved with gangs in his

home town of San Antonio, Texas, at one time serving as a leader. With America at war,

Flores seized the opportunity to change direction and serve his country. He joined the

purpose.

Jack Lawson’s broken home and difficult adolescence led him to join the military

underage. After his father was murdered, his mother wed a man whom Lawson neither

liked nor got along with. Further, Lawson and his siblings were divided amongst

relatives following his father’s death. Young Jack worked for a number of his family

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who also happened to be the last uncle he worked for. His uncle owned a large dairy

farm which required a daily routine of milking cows starting at 4:30 a.m., seven days a

week. The work on the farm continued until sundown, with no chance for recreation.

Lawson recalled his uncle, “being the Christian son-of-a-bitch that he was,” constantly

The Navy became that ideal life, which is why he went to the draft board at age thirteen

in 1943, and, after successfully registering, specifically requested to be called to service

as soon as possible.

While many underage veterans of World War Two referred to the family as a

reason to join in order to help their parents in times of need, the family could also provide

extent that he just “wanted to get away from home.” His motivation was accentuated by

patriotic fervor with the outbreak of war. Weeks after Pearl Harbor, Zei began his

attempts to join the military underage with doctored baptismal certificates, but was

repeatedly refused. Not until November of that year was he ultimately successful, when

the Navy finally accepted him into the service at age fifteen.

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an opportunity for him to break free from the abuse. Following the Doolittle raid over

Tokyo in April 1942, Jimmy Doolittle became Allen’s hero. From that point on, he

wrote, “I had to join the military,” which he succeeding in doing underage, just ten days

after his fourteenth birthday in September 1942.

The reasons children of poverty and

Indeed, to categorize the reasons and influences for underage involvement in war

is a difficult undertaking. The world was at war from 1939 to 1945, yet not every youth

ran off to join in the fight. Those who did were exceptional, volunteering their lives in

defense of their country. Many underage veterans of the Second World War fall into

World War Two joined out of patriotism and for ideological considerations, including the

influences of friends and family, the very people they were leaving behind. Others joined

for pragmatic reasons, with thoughts of leaving the family in order to assist the family in

time of need, to leave a broken home, or to have food to eat. A myriad of factors

combined ultimately led these young men to war.

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believed they could not delay their enlistment until legal age if they were to fulfill their

duty, their obligation to their friends, their family, and their country. In the words of

many, “it was the thing to do.” The underage soldiers of World War Two are the

exception because, in fact, that is what they did.

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achieving their goal. Some felt they had to prove themselves because of their young age

– although in retrospect they realized their concerns were unfounded. As soon as they

entered combat, however, they quickly learned that only one thing mattered, staying

alive.

Nothing is certain in war. As Barbara Tuchman once stated, “War is the

unfolding of miscalculations.” Despite the most extensive and detailed planning,

anything can happen. Any sequence of events can alter the course of action, and

circumstances can change as immediately as the flash of an artillery round or the snap of

a bullet. Those who joined underage found themselves in situations they never could

have imagined in all their youthful dreams of joining the military and fighting a war. As

America’s earlier wars, these underage combatants served with distinction and valor.

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Robert Brandt, in the Marine Corps at age sixteen, recalled his first combat

operation. On 3 November 1942, less than six months after he had joined the Corps, he

was debarking from a troopship at Guadalcanal as part of a combat unit reinforcing

I was ready to go,” to which he added, “gung-ho you know.”

of the net he was suddenly smashed from below. A wave had thrust the landing craft

upward, knocking Brandt off the net. He crashed to the bottom of the craft, feeling as if

he had been broken in half. As the pain subsided, he realized he was uninjured. It was an

inauspicious introduction to war.

small arms fire, which to the sixteen-year-old was “sobering.” “The bad one,” Brandt

recalled, “was shot in the stomach.” The wounded Marine laid out there all night

hollering for help, but the captain would not let anyone go out to get him. Brandt

remembered the man pleading “God, somebody help me.” The calls for help faded and,

eventually toward daybreak, ceased. The effects of that experience were instantaneous;

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jungle just a few hundred feet from their foxholes, he came across several dead Japanese

soldiers, also victims of that first night.

Brandt’s unit received orders to head back to shore for a second amphibious

landing, the second in two days. They headed to the eastern end of Guadalcanal to “clean

figured we would have to do it all over again.” It was a tactical retreat. Coast watchers

had relayed the message that the Japanese were sending reinforcements toward the island.

The commander had decided that it was necessary to reinforce the lines around the

airfield once more.

A rear guard was needed to cover the withdrawal. Brandt’s machine-gun section

four men facing an unknown number of Japanese. Brandt and his three comrades dug in

on a river bank; the enemy held the other side, just flowing water between them. Their

strategy: any time they detected movement on the opposite side they would “pepper them

with all the firepower we had.” They had a machine-gun, a Browning automatic rifle

(BAR), and two rifles. For the next four days and four nights they held their side of the