GRAHAM WILSON

Graham Wilson was born on July 27, 1924 in Deer Creek, Texas, to John Gordon and Elizabeth Smith Wilson. Growing up on his parents' farm, where they raised cotton and corn in addition to operating their Jersey dairy farm, Graham learned early how to work hard rising at 4:00 a.m. to milk cows before school.

Graham began elementary school in Deer Creek, but transferred to Bluegrove because his sister was a teacher at Deer Creek and he didn't want to be in her class. He went to Midway High School but dropped out in 1942, shortly before graduating, after his mother suffered a stroke and he was needed at home to help care for her, and to assist his father with the farmwork.

In August 1944 Graham was drafted into the U. S. Army. He went through basic training at Camp Fannin near Tyler, Texas. After spending Christmas of 1944 with his family in Deer Creek, Graham boarded a military C-47 at Love Field in Dallas to begin his journey. His destination was England, then Normandy, finally ending up in Belgium where he was assigned to the 376th Infantry Regiment as an infantryman and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. On February 19, 1945, Graham was hit in the main artery of his upper left leg by German rifle fire. Bleeding profusely Graham was carried out of the line of fire to a Jeep which transported him to a field hospital where two surgeries were performed. Unfortunately it was too late to prevent the damage. Gangrene set in and, at 20 years old, Graham's lost his leg. After undergoing his final surgeries at McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, Texas, Graham was fitted for a prosthesis. He was discharged on February 6, 1946.

The summer after his leg was removed, while home on leave, Graham's vacation was brightened considerably when he met an appealing young lady named by Bobbie Dugger. Bobbie was still a student at Bluegrove High School when they met. After being discharged from the Army Graham returned to school and he and Bobbie graduated from Bluegrove High School together in l948. They were married on June 29, 1948, and after 61 years, two daughters, four grandchildren and three great- grandchildren they remain a happy couple.

Graham never wanted any special treatment for his disability and he has never let it hold him back. He participated in numerous activities with his family and has been an active member of the First Baptist Church, Masonic Lodge, Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He has served as a member of the Nine Man Board of the Clay County Pioneer Association and as a member of the Henrietta School Board. He is proud to have raised two school teachers: Susan Horn, of Henrietta, and Karen McClure, of Shawnee, Kansas.

In spite of the loss of his leg, Graham will tell you that he has had a full and wonderful life. His happiest memories are of his life with Bobbie and the births of their daughters and their grandchildren. However, he still remembers in vivid detail the day his life was forever changed by German artillery; lying on that stretcher thinking he would bleed to death before he was even twenty-one. His daughter, Susan, calls him her hero.

Graham retired from the U. S. Post Office in 1974. He and Bobbie live in Henrietta, Texas. At eighty-five he continues to go to Blue Grove every day to visit with his friends.