[3] His case was similar to that of Jack W. Hill, who was granted significant media attention due to holding service number one million during World War II, but later was discovered to have lied about his age and subsequently discharged.

Graham was born in Canton, Texas, and was attending elementary school in Houston before he decided to join the Navy, after his father had died and his mother had remarried.

The South Dakota returned to the East Coast on December 18, 1942, for an overhaul and battle damage repairs (she had taken 42 hits from at least three enemy ships) in New York City, and since then, was named "Battleship X" in order to make the Japanese think she had been sunk.

[8] Although serving in the Marine Corps qualified him as a veteran, he would spend the rest of his life fighting for full medical benefits and clearing his military service record.

In 1978, Graham was finally given an honorable discharge for his service in the Navy, and after writing to Congress and with the approval of President Jimmy Carter, all medals except his Purple Heart were reinstated.

[11] Graham's decorations and military awards, as finally settled circa 1994 after intervention by Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton: