SUN CITY â Though many veterans might reminisce about their military memories, for Sun City resident Charlie Locker, itâs a different story.
Locker, who served in World War II as a marine, started as a wary warrior.
âI didnât want to volunteer to go into the military. But in June 1943, I became 18 years old and had to register for the draft,â he said.
Luckily for Locker, a self-described âjack of all trades,â it was his set of skills that saved him. Right before his wartime departure, Locker trained with the Army Signal Corps, learning radar and radio repair.
âAt the time I was drafted, the war was going full tilt, and they sent me to San Diego for boot camp,” he said. “When I finished there, they said, âWe think youâd be a good person to go into the radio repair organization.â I knew that radio and radar work would be better than going right into the front lines, and I knew just about all there was to know about it, I suppose.â
From there, Lockerâs new position in the marines took him all over the map. He traveled to a radio repair research laboratory in Washington D.C., then to Guam, and eventually to Okinawa, where he became the radio operator. However, Locker still felt the fear of the front lines.
âAnybody who knows anything about the infantry knows that the first person they try to kill is the radio operator because they keep radio communication between the back echelons and the front,â he said.
Fortunately, Lockerâs life was spared. He also experienced a brief reprieve when his division relocated to China three months later. During this time, he and his fellow marines had a glimpse of freedom.
âWe got to play basketball and had competitions between our units and the units in other cities,â he said. âWe also got to go to the Forbidden City while it was still forbidden to see. We had a pretty good time there.â
Even as the war was winding down, Lockerâs relief was unmistakable upon returning to the United States after 33 months of service.
âThey tried to see if I wanted to stay in, but I had seen enough. I had no desire to stay in the reserve,â he said.
From there, the veteran went on to obtain an accounting degree from the University of Kentucky, his home state, and pursued a 31-year career with State Farm Insurance. Now retired, he and his wife Sally still keep busy. In addition to participating in the Huntley American Legion, Locker and his wife spend time with their daughter and granddaughters.
âThey keep us going,â he said.
Yet, regardless of the occasional American Legion meetings or marinesâ dinner on Veteranâs Day, Lockerâs thoughts donât linger on his days of duty.
âI donât have any real fond memories,â said Locker. âBut I ended up not getting shot, and I got out. Thatâs my story.â