1. Paul Noll Rejected by U.S Army as 4F- 1949
After I graduated from Mark Keppel High School in January 1949. I took a trip to Seattle to see my Grandfather James Alonzo Noll. He was very old by then and didn't have much time left. After I got back I went to see the Army Recruiting office and got a guarantee that I would go to the Signal School to learn electronics. I had to join the Army by February 20 to ensure the guarantee. I went downtown Los Angeles to take my physical and IQ test. Everything went well until I was called out and they announced I was rejected and rated 4F because of "Cardiac Pathology."
I didn't know what that was. When I asked they said it was because I had said that I had been diagnosed as having Rheumatic Fever while in High School. They said that meant I "might" have heart trouble and the Army didn't want me. I was devastated and worried what to do. I went to a friend's mother who worked for the County Health Department. She soothed my feelings and arranged for me to get an EKG test that day. I had no money but she arranged for it at no cost. She got a doctor to evaluate the EKG and he wrote a report that my heart was in excellent condition and that there were no problems.
The next day I went back to the recruiting center and they took me. Four days later I was on the train for Fort Ord near Monterey, California. I had signed up for three years but when the three years were up I was in Korea fighting the war there. President Harry Truman said that I was doing such a fine job and would I stay in the army for another year.