Memorial Day Stirs Memories For Local WWII, Korean War Veteran

A 95-year-old World War II and Korean War veteran says he’s no hero, and those who never made it off the battlefield are the real heroes.

Harold Dallam rose to the rank of colonel before his retirement in 1978 as a member of Oklahoma City’s 45th Infantry Unit.  

During the course of his year — that spanned four decades — he spent time in 27 different countries, Louisiana, Wisconsin, and, of course, Oklahoma.  

Dallam lost both of his parents by the time he turned 5 years old.  

He was raised The Odd Fellows Orphanage in Carman, Oklahoma.  

He turned down a college scholarship to play basketball to join the Army in 1940.

He said Memorial Day for him is still hard, when he remembers those who served, and didn’t make it.

“It’s hard for me to remember. When you see what we seen, it’s hard to remember,” he said.

Dallam’s son Scott is a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and his grandson Ryan was also in the Army, when he died in 2007 during combat in Iraq.  

“He was a good soldier,” Dallam said of his grandson.