Editing Calvin Graham (section)

=== USS ''South Dakota'' ===
On October 26, 1942, he saw action in the [[Battle of Santa Cruz Islands|Battle of the Santa Cruz]]. The ''South Dakota'' and her crew received a [[Navy Unit Commendation]] for their service. On the night of November 14–15, 1942, Graham was wounded during the [[Naval Battle of Guadalcanal]]. He served as a loader for a [[Bofors 40 mm Automatic Gun L/60|40 mm anti-aircraft gun]] and was hit by [[Shrapnel shell|shrapnel]] while taking a hand message to an officer.<ref name="ussdakota.com">Stories from the USS South Dakota, [https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012718/http://www.ussdakota.com/uss-south-dakota-stories-page1.html "At 12, I Fought The Japs"]. Archived November 29, 2014.</ref><ref name = King>King, Gilbert (December 19, 2012), [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-boy-who-became-a-world-war-ii-veteran-at-13-years-old-168104583/?no-ist "The Boy Who Became A World War II Veteran at 13 Years Old"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141112094319/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-boy-who-became-a-world-war-ii-veteran-at-13-years-old-168104583/?no-ist |date=2014-11-12 }}, ''Smithsonian.com''. Retrieved November 11, 2014.</ref> Though he received fragmentation wounds, he helped in rescue duty by aiding and pulling the wounded aboard ship to safety.<ref name="ussdakota.com"/> He was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal]] and the [[Purple Heart Medal|Purple Heart]], and he and his crew mates were awarded another Navy Unit Commendation.

The ''South Dakota'' returned to the [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]] on December 18, 1942, for an overhaul and battle damage repairs (she had taken 42 hits from at least three enemy ships) in New York City, and since then, was named "Battleship X" in order to make the Japanese think she had been sunk. Graham's mother revealed his age after he traveled to his grandmother's funeral in Texas (he arrived a day late) without permission from the Navy, for which he spent three months in a Texas [[military prison|brig]]. He was released after his sister threatened to contact the newspapers. Although he had tried to return to his ship, he was discharged from the Navy on April 1, 1943, and his awards were revoked.<ref name=VUMS/><ref name="ussdakota.com"/><ref>{{cite book | last = Breyer | first = Rick | title = The Greatest War Stories Never Told | year = 2005 | publisher = Collins | location = New York | isbn = 0-06-076017-6 | oclc = 58985926 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/greatestwarstori00beye/page/160 160–161] | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/greatestwarstori00beye/page/160 }}</ref> The ''South Dakota''{{'}}s gunnery officer who was involved in handling his case was [[Sargent Shriver]].

He then worked in a Houston shipyard as a welder after dropping out of school.<ref name=King/><ref name="Chicago Tribune"/>  At age 14 he married and became a father the following year.  At age 17 he was divorced when he enlisted in the [[US Marine Corps|Marine Corps]].<ref name=King />