Calvin Anthony Obituary

Calvin ("Cal") Dwayne Anthony, 92, passed peacefully at his home in Rochester, Washington on July 15, 2025, in the company of his daughter, after 3 ½ months on hospice care for advanced congestive heart failure. The compassionate staff of Assured Hospice and Home Instead teamed with his family to provide Cal with the best possible comfort and dignity in his remaining days.
Cal was born on September 4, 1932, in Garber, Oklahoma to Harold Bert Anthony and Dora Delilah (Herren) Anthony. He attended one-room country schools in Udall and Belle Plaine as well as the Mulvane Grade School in Kansas. He only completed the 7th grade; he and his older brother, Lawrence, were often pulled out of school by their father to help with farm work and the family logging/sawmill business.
From December 1951 to December 1954, Cal served in the U.S. Army. He was 19 when he enlisted. He completed 16 weeks of basic training at Fort Ord, California. He had additional training in Fairbanks, Alaska, to learn cold-weather survival tactics. He was then sent to Seattle, before being shipped overseas as a foot soldier in the 2nd Division, 9th Infantry Regiment to fight in the Korean War.
In Korea, Cal was promoted from private to corporal. He trained as a sniper and conducted 33 missions before being wounded by flying shrapnel from a mortar round in the Punch-Bowl area of Korea on November 29, 1952. His metal flak jacket saved his life, but the shrapnel broke 7 vertebrae in his lower back. He lay for many hours on the cold ground, initially unconscious, before Army medical personnel located him at night. He was transported by helicopter to a MASH unit in Korea, then sent to Seoul, then Pusan, and finally to a military hospital in Osaka, Japan.
Despite a diagnosis by his doctors that he wouldn't walk again, during his 4 months in the hospital, he forced himself out of bed to exercise his legs. He'd often fall to the floor, aggravating the nurses. But, as Cal recounted, "I put my mind to it." He received an additional month of convalescence with other wounded soldiers in Tokyo, and when he was discharged, he walked out on his own two feet, proving the doctors wrong.
Cal was slated to return to Korea but received orders to be sent back (via ship) to the states to Fort Lewis (now part of Joint Base Lewis-McChord) near Tacoma, Washington. As a staff sergeant, he became a basic training instructor for new recruits. In 1954, he and other Ft. Lewis soldiers were dispatched to the U.S. Army Yakima Training Center (YTC) to appear as German soldiers in the autobiographical movie "To Hell and Back" starring Audie Murphy, WWII's most decorated service member.
Cal revisited the YTC with his daughter in September 2024 where he received attention from local news media covering his return after 70 years. He also was given a special tour of the YTC base, and the Commanding Officer and Command Sergeant Major presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation.
By the time Cal left active service in December 1954, he had climbed to the rank of technical sergeant (E7). He had earned many combat infantry badges, medals, commendations, and citations, including the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Campaign Stars, and a Silver Star-which is U.S. Armed Forces' third highest decoration for Valor in Combat. He was also awarded the Purple Heart Medal, of which he was most proud.
Cal met his wife-to-be, Edna Jeanette Isaacson, on his birthday, September 4, 1954, at The Evergreen Ballroom in Lacey, Washington, where his platoon took him to celebrate. Cal and Edna married on December 26, 1954, in Olympia, Washington, living there briefly before moving to the California Bay Area, where Cal worked as a Tool & Die Maker at Litton Industries for 17 years. A daughter, Janet Lee, was born in Redwood City in 1955, and a son, William ("Bill") Bert, in San Jose in 1958. Cal moved his family from Cupertino, California to Aberdeen, Washington in 1972, where he worked as a logger and then a semi-truck mechanic. He suffered an injury on the job, forcing him into retirement, and in 2000, he and Edna moved to Rochester, Washington. His beloved wife of over 58 years passed away on April 10, 2013.
The couple's urns will be placed together in a niche in a memorial wall at the in Kent, Washington. A military honors ceremony at the cemetery is planned for Cal on September 4, 2025, at which time Edna will also be recognized.
Cal's combat experience in Korea took a toll: he suffered from severe PTSD, partial deafness/tinnitus from a 90 mm gun that fired directly over his head during battle, backache from his war wound, and foot pain from frostbite. But Cal was a positive force to those who knew and loved him. He will be fondly remembered for his pride in his military service, his love of animals, his sense of humor and storytelling as well as his kindness and generosity to others. He enjoyed rockhounding, faceting gems or polishing rocks to make jewelry, tinkering in his shop, and traveling/camping with family. He was a life-long Democrat and often engaged in lively conversations about politics.
Cal is survived by his daughter, Janet Anthony of Rochester, WA, and son, Bill Anthony of Seattle, WA; grandchildren, Christopher Anthony (with wife Victoria) of Seattle, WA, and Patrick Anthony (with wife Alicia) of Marysville, WA; a brother, Roy Harold Anthony of Shelton, WA, and sisters, Lois Marie Anthony and Betty Jane Anthony of Olympia, WA. He was predeceased by his parents; brothers, Delbert Ray Anthony, Lawrence Lee Anthony, and David Eugene Anthony; sisters, Delores Ann Stephens and Pearl Mae McCord; paternal grandparents, Joseph Bert ("J.B.") Anthony and Mary Alice Green; and maternal grandparents, Ora David Herren and Lucy Bell Altman. Please leave condolences or share your favorite memories of Cal on the Tribute Wall.