Phillip Strawn, an 83-year-old veteran of the Korean War, and life-long resident of Wareham will lead Wareham's 56th annual Veterans Day parade on Nov. 11

Strawn was 20 years old, working in gas stations and grocery stores in Wareham, when he was served draft papers by the U.S. government to join the war effort. He was sent to basic training at Fort Indiantown Gap in Pennsylvania, assigned to Army Infantry as a machine gunner in the 1st platoon of the 24th division of the 34th regiment. After completing basic training, Strawn was sent to Fort Lewis in Washington, and from there he was shipped out to Incheon, Korea.

“Going into the military is the first trip away from home for most guys," Strawn said."Being over there and seeing how people lived was really atrocious. It was not a happy sight. I felt sorry for the Korean people. They didn't live in houses, they lived in huts – just a strange environment.”

Not too long after arriving in Korea, reports came in that the fighting was coming to an end. Strawn never saw combat, though he was assigned to the demilitarized zone at the 38th parallel where he transported prisoners who refused repatriation from the DMZ to Seoul.

“I think initially the Koreans were certainly glad to see Americans. It was really pathetic there. I remember doing details, where we built them a tent city for the Korean people. They had nothing,” Strawn said.

Strawn's unit was sent back from Korea in 1954, and he was released from the army a few weeks before Christmas. He said one of his best memories was shipping into Fort Lawton in the State of Washington.

“I walked up on deck and I looked off in the distance, and I saw lights. It brought tears to my eyes, because I remember saying to myself, 'You're home. You might be three thousand miles away from your house, but you're home.' It was one [heck] of a good feeling.”

After returning to Wareham, Strawn was able to access veterans' benefits to get a high school diploma. Strawn took the necessary courses to get high school credit from Newman Prep in Boston, then got a general business degree from Boston University. Following college, Strawn worked for the insurance company Boston Mutual for 12 years, then as Wareham's Town Collector for eight terms, followed by four years as an Assessor.

Strawn was nominated for the role of grand marshal by Wareham salon owner Harry Irving.

“It's an honor and a privilege,” said Strawn, “there's a lot of other guys out there are more deserving that I am, but here I am.”

On Nov. 11 Strawn will lead the march of Wareham's Veterans Day Parade starting at 10:30 a.m. from Besse Park, onto Main Street, taking a left at Chapel Hill, passing by the Multi-Service center and Town Hall and finishing up by taking a left at Viking Drive.

For more information on Phillip Strawn, the Wareham Free Library has a DVD available for members to take out called, "Grand Marshal Phillip Strawn 2015".