The Shemwell Family

Recollections from Bruce Troutman (his son) When my Grandfather (Michael LeRoy Troutman) died in 1941, that left my Dad an orphan. My Dad’s mother (Mary Mae) had passed away in 1929 when he was just 3 years old. He told me that after 1941, he moved around and was taken care of by various Aunts and Uncles. He also told me that he joined the service, first the Army then the Navy. Since he really had nowhere to go, he told me that he spoke to the Enlistment Officer about his situation. Since my Dad was big for his 15 years, he and the Enlistment Officer decided to record his official birthday on the Draft Records as June 23, 1923 instead of June 23, 1926. So, when he filled out his initial military paperwork on June 30, 1942, it showed his age as being 19 years old instead of the 16 years he really was. This Draft Record shows his next of kin as being Everett Davis (husband of his step-sister, Vivian). Newspaper records show that he was a Private at a Casper, Wyoming military facility. He told me that he earned several sharpshooter medals. On July 23, 1946 my Dad has another Draft Card showing his next of kin as step-sister, Jean Miller. I am not sure how long he stayed in the Army as he didn’t talk too much about the war effort. He did tell me that he later joined the Navy and was stationed Guam where he was a Butcher. He also said he got some construction experience while working as a Sea Bee.