The Wayne A. Larson VFW Post #7356

As I started my research on the Veterans of Foreign War hall in Klamath, I discovered it no longer exists. Checking with the VFW’s California Directory, I learned the hall was shuttered years ago due to low attendance and all existing memberships were transferred to the John McElroy Post #1381, in Crescent City.

Not only was Dad the Commander of the post in the mid-to-late 70’s, he was Santa’s helper most Christmases. I enjoyed helping him hand out presents during the VFW’s annual holiday gathering, where he’d appear as St. Nick, big bag and all, stuffed with toys.

Besides leaving me a bit sad, I realized there is a gap in the history of Klamath. That gap’s the history behind the name of the now-closed VFW hall, which was the Wayne A. Larson VFW Post #7356.

A number of VFW posts are named for a fallen service member. And that’s what I’ve always believed about the old hall in Klamath.

Following is data I located in California Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard World War II Casualty List:  “LARSON, Wayne A., Pvt., USMCR, Wife, Mrs. Wayne A. Larson, Rt. 4, Box 4242, Sacramento.”

This doesn’t fit with what my classmate Jon Larson told me when we were in sixth grade at Margaret Keating School. He told me Wayne was his uncle and that he had die at Normandy during D-Day.

Neither does this fit with what I know about the June 6th, 1944  invasion. While there were a number of U.S. Marines aboard U.S. Naval ships, many used to man the guns and one Marine officer attempted to form a “special unit,” to help the U.S. Army Rangers overcome the stalemate that they found themselves in at Pointe du Hoc, none actually landed on the appointed date.

So, in the end, I’m not certain the Larson I’ve found on the casualty list is the same as which graced the Klamath post. What I am able to do though is preserve both the name of the defunct post and what historical information I know about Jon’s uncle.