Page 62 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2023 - Online Magazine

Thomas Stroud The Youngest “Old”
homas “Tommy” Stroud
did everything early
Tand fast growing up in
Anadarko, Oklahoma. He was
the youngest of five children
born to Joseph and Vermell
Stroud on November 26, 1932.
Joseph was a barber and a
policeman, but during WWII, he
moved the family to California
to work in a shipyard.
Tommy's older brother Sidney
was in the Army and fought in
the Pacific during WWII. As
a teenager, Tommy got pretty
good at playing pool. “I guess
I was pretty good because I
always had some spending
money.” He also “earned some
pocket money” hanging out at
the local Oklahoma National
Guard, playing basketball with
the guys there.
Tommy played basketball and
baseball at Anadarko High and
graduated at age 17 in May
1950. Even before graduation,
he had lied about his age and
joined the Guard at age 15,
spending weekends once a
month with the 45th Infantry
Division Artillery and training
62 Lubbock Senior Link
Sergeant
by Larry Willliams
at Ft. Sill during Panama Canal. (A buddy and
the summers. If I got off at Panama for a short
Tommy had any time, and we were late getting
thoughts of leaving back to the boat. We almost got
the 45th, his timing left in Panama.) It took us two
could not have been weeks to get to San Francisco.
worse. North Korea There, we boarded the troop
invaded South Korea ship USNS General C.G. Morton
on June 25, 1950. The and sailed for Japan, which took
45th Infantry was another two weeks. After being
“frozen” during the on that ship, I was glad I didn’t
Korean War, and join the Navy!”
Tommy was called
to active duty on Assigned to Battery B, 1st
Battalion, 158th Field Artillery
September 1, 1950. on the 105 mm Howitzer,
Basic training for Stroud was he recalled, “We landed in
at Camp Polk, Louisiana. The Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan and
young man was able to squeeze then moved by train to Chitose,
in one important event before a large tent city. After training,
deploying. He married Dawn we were sent to Camp Crawford
DeGraffenreid on November 18, near Sapporo on the north side
1950. He was 17 years old, and of the island. In December
Dawn was 18. 1951, we shipped out to Pusan,
Korea. Another train took us to
“After basic, we were sent to Tagwan-Ni, where we were sent
New Orleans where we boarded
a troopship and shipped out up to the DMZ to replace the 1st
to San Francisco by way of the Cavalry Division. We had a First