Ward Prater 02/16/2012

Ward Prater was born on a farm in McCurtain County in 1925. He attended Eagleton School and later Broken Bow High School. When he was seventeen years old, he got permission from his parents to join the war effort so he could choose his branch. He became a Marine in the Second Battalion, Sixth Marine Regiment. He shipped off to Hawaii and Saipan. After a few months of duty, on July 3, 1944, he was injured by a hand grenade. Although he did not particularly enjoy his long months in the Naval Hospital in Norman, Oklahoma, it was during this time he met his wife, Jean.