Portraits of Valor

John was born on January 18, 1924, in Kingston OK.  He grew up in the small town of Mountain View and left his education behind when he joined the army to serve in World War II as a technician, fifth grade. He received a citation from President Harry Truman in appreciation for his service. After returning to civilian life, John worked for the Civilian Conservation Corp in Colorado and then in Oklahoma City as a plumber and Heat and Air serviceman. John and a friend switched partners at a barn dance, and he decided to keep his new partner, Margaret and John were married for 70 years. He has three children, 16 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and 24 great-great-grandchildren. John earned his high school diploma in 2001 and retired at age 92. He is active in church and served as a deacon at every church he attended. He enjoyed dressing up as Santa for Christmas every year.

Colonel Fred C. Seals, Jr. was born on April 9, 1922, in Benton, Texas. He entered the U.S. Army in 1944 with his first assignment at Fort Sill. After attending flight school and basic training, he joined the 8th Airforce, 490th Bomb Group in England and then flew missions to Okinawa until August 1945. Commissioned as a second lieutenant, he advanced through the ranks to Colonel. He would later serve during the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War and the Vietnam War and in the National Guard. His awards and decorations include an Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters, two Bronze Service and many others. Fred was honorably discharged on April 30, 1977, after more than 33 years of service. He continued to serve through community organizations such as the South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Foundation. He and his wife Dottie were married for 65 years and had four children.

George Smith was born in Alton, Illinois in 1925. He married his wife Charlotte in June 1946 and was married 62 years before her passing. He had three children which included two sons and a daughter. He has many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was drafted in 1943 and then upon completing boot camp at the Great Lakes Naval Station was sent to Chelsea Naval Hospital to complete training as a Corpsman. He was transferred to Camp Lajune as a Pharmacist Mate 3rd Class and then to Camp Pendleton before deploying to the Pacific theater. He was at the battle of Guadalcanal and received a battle star from the battle of Okinawa. He was honorably discharged in 1946. After service he trained to become a pilot and was a flight instructor and pilot for 21 years. His favorite aircraft to fly was the Boeing 707.

Mr. Edward L. Wegner was born March 19, 1926, to Edward and Velma Hatt Wegner. He joined the U. S. Army June 28, 1944, and was sent to Fort Sheridan, Illinois for basic training. He fought in the Rhineland, Germany campaign with the 42nd Infantry Division, Rainbow Division. Edward was injured in Wurzburg, Germany on April 6, 1945. He spent several weeks in field hospitals before being transferred to a German hospital and then sent to Percy Jones Military Hospital in Fort Custer, Michigan. He was honorably discharged on October 12, 1945. Edward received the Bronze Star, Bronze V Award and a Purple Heart. He married Lois Jean Wegner on December 20, 1947, in Fenton, Michigan, where he worked in factories. They were married for 72 years until her death in 2019. From this union they had two sons. Edward spent most of his life in Kingston, Oklahoma, until moving to Sulphur Veterans Center.

Born in 1927 in Oklahoma, Cliff was in eighth grade at a rural school outside of Ada, Oklahoma, when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941. Knowing that he would be drafted as soon as he turned 18, he dropped out of school as a sophomore and enlisted in the U.S. Navy on November 6, 1944. After basic training, he left San Francisco aboard the USS LaGrange on January 1, 1945. He participated in the Battle of Okinawa surviving Kamikaze attacks and typhoons. After Japan's surrender and an intense typhoon, he was transferred to the Naval Construction Battalions (CBs or more commonly known as the "Seabees") to help rebuild the camp on Okinawa. He was discharged in June 1946 and returned home to Roff, Oklahoma, where he joined the National Guard, completed his high school education and married his high school sweetheart. Williams worked for OG&E for 38 and a half years retiring in 1987.