Too Young the Hero

There are several troubling components of this movie other than the criticism that Shroder was not 12 years old when playing the role. This lad enlisted fraudently as did many other under-aged enlistees in World War 2. Some because of patriotism but in the case of this boy it was because of economic deprivation. He performed his war duties well enough to be awarded citations for bravery. Due to some bureaucratic foul-up he was jailed when returning from leave for desertion. The sad part of this story is that he was raped while in the brig and even the chaplain admitted he was not authorized to write to family members indicating where he was. A fellow prisoner upon release did courageously call the victim's sister and she contacted a local paper to secure his release. But the final absurdity is seen when an officer tells the released victim to not divulge what happened to him. The navy did not want its dirty wash shown to the world.

Decades before advanced record keeping was put into place and computers can pull up a background of a person in seconds, it is said that thousands of underage boys lied about their ages to join the U.S. Military. Their reasons for joining varied; many served with honor.

Twelve year old Calvin Leon Graham, "Too Young the Hero" was one of those thousands.

Until CBS aired this made-for-TV movie, I had never heard of Calvin Graham. While parts and names were fictionalized for "dramatic clarity" (as the teleplay indicated at the beginning), I thought this conveyed the story of Graham well: his life as part of a poor family in Texas; his not-so-good relationship with his step dad; his plot to get into the Navy; his subsequent Navy service and maturing as he faces death and destruction when his ship, the USS South Dakota goes into combat; his discovery of his true age by the Navy; and his wrongful brig time made for an interesting account.

Again, there were parts and names fictionalized, but if this movie wanted to make you learn more about Calvin Graham, then it did its job. In my opinion, not too many people have heard of this Sailor until the broadcast of this 1988 tele-movie to include President Reagan who viewed it at the time. After he viewed this, he signed legislation that granted Graham full disability benefits (which he was denied after leaving the Navy).

Sure, it was made-for-TV and budgeted as such. North Carolina (where most of this was shot) stood in for many places in this tele-feature: Houston, TX (Calvin's Home at 12); Pearl Harbor, HI; New Caledonia; New York City; and rounding off the state's participation in this movie, the museum battleship, USS North Carolina stood in for the long since dismantled USS South Dakota. Virginia's National Guard Base, Camp Pendleton stood in for the rest: Corpus Christi, TX (Brig); San Diego, CA (Boot Camp). Of course, when Ricky Schroder shot this, he was seventeen years old. Did people cringe at these "inaccuracies?" Of course! I know I did. But it did not detract from the story.

It didn't have the budget of another TV WWII epic, "The Winds of War" (which shot at various places around the country and world); and while there have been many amazing (pre-teen) child actors in Hollywood, I doubt that 1) there were any that looked like they can pass for 17; and 2) they would have been able to depict the part of Graham maturing quickly convincingly. There are always "nits" in any movie, but all you can do is hope they don't keep you from taking in the story.

Again, many underage young men served in the military. Many served with honor. Underage military service is a story that is rarely told and CBS did it real well for Calvin Graham. I don't know if we should put these once too-young-to-be-in-the-service members on a pedestal like we seem to for the Pattons, MacArthurs and Nimitz' of the time, but I do know we need to honor them as they became men while their peers back home were doing typical activities of pre-teen and 'teen boys.

Their story is rarely told, let alone Calvin Graham's. When you look past the nit-picks and obvious older age of Ricky Schroder playing a twelve year old, this tele-movie will give you an appreciation of who Calvin Graham was and what he endured. It is unlikely there will be another movie made about Calvin Graham.

If you read up on him (after watching this movie), you will find he was the youngest service member to fight in World War II. Thank you CBS for pointing me to research that fact!

Well, Too Young the Hero is a very campy war movie made for TV. My Grandfather was on the same Battleship that the story takes place during the second world war. I used to watch the movie constantly when I was younger, until I realized that it really isn't very good. The acting is not the best I've seen, and the entire story is generally not pulled off well.

I really thought this was a good war and autobiographical film. I found the story of Calvin Graham to be interesting and tragic. While the movie may've taken a few liberties in the source material I enjoyed it nonetheless. I have to admit there were times where I got angry over the injustice Calvin and is brother had to go through. Their homelife is less than ideal and most of the people they have to deal with are terrible and at the very least apathetic. Calvin Graham (Rick Schroeder) dreams of serving his country and is too anxious to wait until he reaches the enlistment age. Eager to fight he lies about his age and enlist. After dealing with boot camp, bullies, and a rough sea life, he proves himself during an attack and is awarded for his bravery until his true age is discovered where he gets sent to the brig.

Most of the story's told through flashbacks during his time in the brig. From his life prior to enlisting as a sailor. Probably one of the most infuriating scenes is when 2 drunk sailors try to rape him and he ends up lying about his injury to the nurse afterwards in embarressment. I felt like he should've told the truth but I digress. For all of his hardships he does befriend another sailor who looks out for him. The acting and dialouge were great. When a line's spoken it's done with conviction sometimes poigantly. The way the characters act is mostly understandable though most of the actions of the adults will make you angry and even sad at the same time.

I won't give away the ending but it's bittersweet to say the least. "Too Young the Hero" is a great war drama. It's tragic and bitter at times yet still hopeful. In a world that can be very mean-spirited (and understandably so) during a crisis, there's still hope and this movie shows it. If you like war movies and underdog stories than I highly recommend this. What also makes this great is Rick Schroder as Calvin Graham. He really balances the adventurous side of being a teen while also knowing when to be sad or angry at the injustice he has to constantly face. So yeah, check this movie out.

i am proud to have walked in Calvin Grahams footsteps. I belong to the same veterans group he did. . I am Missouri state vice commander. Calvin has more than two thousand known comrades Veterans of underage military service. I am Missour state vice commander.

Calvin has more than two thousand known comrades with many not found yet.

We have reunions each year across America and a mini-reunion at Branson.Missouri during veterans day week November 6th- 12,2005.

Ronald W. Browne, Missouri Vice Commander

we are always looking for all Americans who enlisted into the military underage.

we have our own web site. or call 1-888-653-8867