The Secrets of the USS South Dakota and Calvin Graham

The USS South Dakota carried "green boys", who were new US war recruits, and took them out through the Panama Canal to fight. However, the ship couldn't get through the canal fast enough, and it was almost destroyed. It finally pulled back into New York four months later, ready for repairs. Once it was fixed and ready to return to battle, the US learned shocking news. The Japanese thought that the USS South Dakota had been completely destroyed, when in fact it hadn't. That, at the moment, was one of the most powerful weapons the US had.

The US took advantage of this and removed all the ship's identification to assure that the survival of the ship would remain a secret. The ship went on to participate in several more missions throughout World War II.

Another secret about the USS South Dakota, was that there was a 12-year-old aboard. Calvin Graham lied about his age to get recruited when he was just 12 years old. He did things such as wear his older brother's clothes and practice his deep voice. However, the telling sign he was underage was his teeth. When a dentist checked his teeth, he kept telling Calvin that he was 12 years old, but Calvin kept insisting that he was 17. The dentist wasn't giving up, but Calvin had made sure to get in line behind a few kids he knew were 14 and 15 year olds. He told the dentist that he knew for a fact the kids in front of him were underage, but the dentist had let them in anyways. Finally, the dentist gave up and let Calvin get passed the inspection.

As for his mother, Calvin had previously moved out to live with one of his brothers because they had an abusive father. So he simply told his mother that he was going to stay with relatives. His mother didn't find out where he had been until he was injured while fighting.

During a battle, a piece of shrapnel hit his face, knocked out his front teeth, and struck him done three stories, but he got back up to help others. "Battleship X", as they now called the ship, returned to New York yet again for more repairs. Calvin Graham received a Bronze Medal for his combat and a Purple Heart for his injuries.

However, the Navy eventually found out he lied about his age, stripped him of his medals, and Graham became a war veteran at 13 years old.

Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-boy-who-became-a-world-war-ii-veteran-at-13-years-old-168104583/

https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/12/05/calvin-graham/