My dad, Lester T. Gregory, served in the U.S. Army from 1943-1946. He served in Company F, 105th Infantry. He was in Saipan in World War II. The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944 as part of Operation Forager. During this battle, he was wounded twice. He was shot in the left shoulder. I remember that. The other time he was wounded, I do not recall. I know he carried a comrade out of the jungle to safety. While he was carrying him on his back, he fell off a cliff. Because of the fall, it damaged both his feet.
Dad received two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and was employed by the Department of the Interior. They later reassigned him to the Bureau of Reclamation, where he worked on the Shasta Dam in northern California.
I believe he was a member of The American Legion. He died Jan. 2, 1975.
Because of his example and the way he raised me, I was proud to enlist in the U.S. Navy and become a member of The American Legion.