Biography - Part One

Early Life
Leon Clay Wesson was born on March 6, 1927, in Gary, Indiana, to Clay and Sophenia Nelson Wesson. He grew up with three brothers: Cleo (a World War II veteran), Rhanders, and Rufus, as well as a sister, Charleen.

Wesson attended a segregated high school in Gary, Indiana. He registered for the draft on March 6, 1945, and was inducted on September 19, 1945, at Camp Atterbury near Edinburg, Indiana.

Homefront
Throughout the early twentieth century, Gary, Indiana, was known as a steel town. United States Steel’s Gary Works opened in the early 1900s and continued to manufacture steel for World War I and World War II. As one of the largest steel mills in the world, it was a crucial part of U.S. steel production during the Korean War years, for both military and industrial use.

After World War II, President Harry S. Truman sought to control inflation by advocating for price controls and increased taxes. As part of those efforts, he attempted to mediate labor disputes in key industries, including the steel industry. In 1952, when steel companies refused to meet union demands for higher wages, Truman issued Executive Order 10340 and seized control of the steel industry so that production would not be slowed or halted due to a strike. However, the Supreme Court quickly overturned this order, when it ruled Truman did not have the constitutional power to do so. 

Gary's population increased by 18.6% when immigrants and migrants flocked to the city for jobs in manufacturing between 1940 and 1950. Because of this, the city experienced issues with segregation and inequality. 

As early as 1912, African American students were allowed to attend the Froebel School in Gary, but a report published by the United States Bureau of Education in 1914 indicated that “the other patrons of the school, most of whom are foreigners, strenuously object to mixing colored children with the others; so they were placed in separate classes in charge of two colored teachers. . .”  As a result, Froebel remained internally segregated. In the fall of 1945, after the school allowed more African American students to attend, White students held a strike that was later referred to as a “Hate Strike.” 

Television ownership was on the rise in the late 1940s and early 1950s, which meant families had more access to entertainment programs and the news. People could see what was going on beyond their community, which included the Korean War.  

Families were encouraged to grow their own food as often as possible during wartime. Larger farms contributed to the war effort by feeding military personnel. As a world agricultural leader, more than 65% of Indiana farms exported corn, hogs, dairy, and eggs by 1949.


Biography - Part 2
Military Experience
Wesson was assigned to the Cavalry Detachment, 1802nd Special Regiment, a unit which supported the training of cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. Wesson worked as a truck driver in the unit. On November 30, 1946, he was honorably discharged.

From 1948 to 1950, he attended West Virginia State College on the G.I. Bill. He later received a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education from Hampton University, a historically Black college. During this time, he also joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. 

After being recalled to active duty at the beginning of the Korean War, Wesson attended artillery school at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, from November 1951 to May 1952. His training included learning fire direction techniques, which enabled soldiers to calculate firing data accurately and coordinate artillery fire to support infantry and armored units. He was also trained to identify and locate enemy targets using a variety of methods. This training ensured artillery personnel were well-prepared to provide effective fire support while deployed.

After training, Wesson deployed to Korea and earned a promotion to first lieutenant on December 15, 1952. During his service, the U.S. Army’s Organized Reserve Corps (ORC) primarily functioned to bolster understrength active Army units. This allowed individual reservists, such as Wesson, to fill personnel gaps rather than deploying entire reserve units.  After his service in Korea, Wesson received an honorable discharge from Camp Carson, Colorado, on August 2, 1953.

Veteran Experience
After leaving the military, Wesson worked for the Department of Labor for more than 30 years. In 1969, he married Maxine (Pearl) Carter, and they had two sons, Thomas and Alex, and a daughter, Paula. After retiring from the Department of Labor, he worked as a groundskeeper and was an active member of Elbel Golf Course in South Bend, Indiana. Wesson enjoyed bowling and golfing throughout his retirement. 

The Wessons were involved in their community in many ways, which included serving on the committee of the North Central Provincial Council of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, leading a local Boy Scout troop, and as being members of the Greater Saint John Missionary Baptist Church. Wesson was an avid bowler and even combined his love of bowling with the Special Olympics when he organized bowling tournaments for individuals with disabilities in South Bend.

Commemoration
Leon Wesson passed away on October 18, 2011. He is buried at Crown Hill National Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana, with a gravestone bearing the inscription: “1st Lieutenant World War II, Korea, Avid Golfer.”

Upon his death, his body was donated to the Indiana University—Purdue University Indianapolis Science Department.

His wife, Pearl, continued living in Indiana near their adult children and grandchildren until her death in 2023.

Bibliography
Primary Sources

"Big-Screen TV, W.G. Waggoner and Westinghouse." The Rushville Republic [Rushville, IN], July 27, 1953. Newspapers.com (549858190).

"CBS Announces Low-Cost and Better Color TV." Kokomo Tribune [Kokomo, IN], October 5, 1953. Newspapers.com (9999971).

Executive Order 10340—Directing the Secretary of Commerce to Take Possession of and Operate the Plants and Facilities of Certain Steel Companies. April 8, 1952. Federal Register. https://www.federalregister.gov/executive-order/10340. 

“Gary Shocked by School Strike.” Indianapolis Recorder [Indianapolis, Indiana], September 29, 1945. https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=INR19450929-01.1.1&srpos=156&e=-------en-20--141-byDA-txt-txIN-%22froebel%22+%2b+%22strike%22------. 

Leon Clay Wesson, DD-214, Department of the Army. National Archives and Records Administration - St. Louis.

Leon Clay Wesson, Enlisted Record and Report of Separation Honorable Discharge, Department of the Army. National Archives and Records Administration - St. Louis.

Leon Clay Wesson, Final Pay Voucher, Department of the Army. National Archives and Records Administration - St. Louis.

Leon Clay Wesson. Indiana, U.S., Birth Certificates, 1907-1944. Digital images. https://ancestry.com.

Leon Clay Wesson. Indiana, U.S., Death Certificates, 1899-2017. Digital images. https://ancestry.com.

“Leon Clay Wesson.” The South Bend Tribune [South Bend, IN], Oct. 27, 2011. Newspapers.com (511535665). 

Leon Clay Wesson. U.S., Social Security Death Index. https://www.fold3.com. 

Leon C. Wesson. U.S., WWII Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946. https://fold3.com.

Leon Clay Wesson. World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947. Digital Images. https://ancestry.com. 

Moriarty, William John. Rock at camp entrance. Photograph. 1943. Camp Atterbury World War II Photograph Collection, Indiana State Library. https://indianamemory.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16066coll13/id/279/.

OCS Fort Sill. film. 1961. National Archives and Records Administration (NAID 2569759). https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.2569759. 

“Oddment Days” [Advertisement].  Terre Haute Star [Terre Haute, IN], July 13, 1950. Newspapers.com (11821909). 

“Plan for Winter Food Storage Purdue Advises.” Rushville Republican [Rushville, IN], October 6, 1953. Newspapers.com (54985185). 

“Regional Meeting.” The South Bend Tribune [South Bend, IN], 1978. Newspapers.com (516424643).

“Text of Eisenhower’s Farm Address at Kasson, Missouri.” Evansville Courier [Evansville, IN], September 7, 1952. Newspapers.com (760392209).  

“Unemployment.” Huntingburgh Argus [Huntingburg, IN], August 11, 1950. Newspapers.com (846613996).

U. S. Department of Commerce. 1950 Census of Population Preliminary Count: Population of Indiana, By Counties. Washington, D.C:  Bureau of the Census, 1950. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/pc-02/pc-2-20.pdf. 

“Welcome to Budd Co.” The Hammond Times [Hammond, IN], February 13, 1950. Newspapers.com (307173731). 

West Virginia. Kanawha County. 1950 U.S. Census. Digital images. https://ancestry.com.

Secondary Sources

“Careers.” Department of Labor. Accessed November 25, 2025. https://www.dol.gov/general/jobs. 

“A Challenge to Integration: The Froebel School Strikes of 1945.” Untold Indiana. Accessed March 24, 2025. https://blog.history.in.gov/a-challenge-to-integration-the-froebel-school-strikes-of-1945/. 

Coker, Kathryn Roe. United States Army Reserve Mobilization for the Korean War. Office of Army Reserve History, 2013. https://www.usar.army.mil/Portals/98/Documents/historycorner/Korean%20War%20Pub_Revised%20June%2012-2013.pdf. 

“Documenting the War Effort Exhibition.” Harvard Business School. Accessed November 7, 2024. https://www.library.hbs.edu/us-steel/exhibition/documenting-the-wartime-effort. 

“Mission Statement.” USAFAS United States Army Field Artillery School. Accessed January 19, 2025.  https://sill-www.army.mil/usafas/. 

“Leon Clay Wesson.” Find a Grave. Accessed March 24, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79357095/leon-clay-wesson. 

“Leon Clay Wesson.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed March 25, 2025. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/LEONCLAYWESSON/a2fc6b. 

Pannell, Keith. “100th Anniversary of the Field Artillery School.” Fires, May-June 2011. https://morrisswett.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/api/collection/p15766coll2/id/13/download. 

“Pearl Maxine Wesson.” Find a Grave. Updated August 19, 2023. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/255433285/pearl-maxine-wesson#view-photo=278692458. 

“Pearl Maxine Wesson.” Legacy. Updated April 24, 2023. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/pearl-wesson-obituary?id=51711196#obituary. 

Pfeiffer, Casey.  “A Challenge to Integration: The Froebel School Strikes of 1945.” The Indiana History Blog, March 3, 2017. blog.history.in.gov/a-challenge-to-integration-the-froebel-school-strikes-of-1945/. 

Springate, Megan. “Victory Gardens on the World War II Home Front.” National Park Service. November 16, 2023. Accessed November 25, 2024.  www.nps.gov/articles/000/victory-gardens-on-the-world-war-ii-home-front.htm. 

“Steel Strike of 1952.” Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. Accessed November 25, 2024. www.trumanlibrary.gov/education/presidential-inquiries/steel-strike-1952.

This profile was researched by the Eighth Grade United States History Class, mentored by Cold Spring School at Marian University teacher Mrs. Lori Grant Feliciano, as part of a Veterans Legacy Grant Program led by National History Day in the 2024/2025 academic year.

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.


Leon Clay Wesson’s birth certificate, March 6, 1927. Ancestry Classroom.

A document filled in with information from Wessons birth.

Leon Clay Wesson’s World War II draft registration card, March 6, 1945. National Archives and Records Administration.

A small index card filled in with information about Wesson.

A feature in The South Bend Tribune about the Kappa Alpha Psi national fraternity committee, of which Leon Wesson was a member, 1978.

Four men in suits and ties are standing close to one another and are engaged in a discussion.

Leon Clay Wesson after his military service. Newspapers.com.

Leon Wesson looks directly into the camera. He is an African American male with short hair.

Wesson's Report of Separation from the military, 1952. Portions have been redacted for privacy. National Archives and Records Administration.

Wesson's separation document from the military for his Korean War service.

Rock at Camp Atterbury entrance carved by Italian prisoners-of-war, 1943. Indiana State Library Digital Collection.

A photograph of a large rock that has been carved with the words Camp Atterbury 1942. 

Wesson's niche at the Crown Hill Columbarium Annex, Indianapolis, Indiana. April 8, 2025.

The marker on Wesson's niche reads, "gone golfing."

Entrance sign to Fort Sill, 1961. National Archives and Records Administration.

A large, rectangular sign reads You are now entering Fort Sill Artillery Center of the World.

LEON CLAY WESSON

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