Sloan, Mark

U.S. Army 1950-1954 and U.S. Air Force

Mark Sloan

Mark Sloan was born in 16-FEB 1932 at Michael Reese Hospital (Closed in 2009) on the west side of Chicago.  Mark was an orphan.  Mark said, “Being an orphan, I didn’t have any home life.  I went from orphanage to home, orphanage, to home, orphanage to home.  That’s how I spent my first eighteen years.”  When asked, “What made you go into the Army” Mark said, “You’re going to die laughing at this.  I had gotten in a little trouble.  I had just turned eighteen and I was standing in front of a judge.  He said, ‘I’m going to give you a choice young man.’  I said, ‘yeah?  I didn’t say sir, I said yeah.’  He said, ‘I’ll send you to jail for three years, or you’ll join the Army.’  I said, ‘I’ll join the Army.’ So, I joined the Army.  But it was the best thing in the world that happened to me.  Joining the Army was an easy choice for me.”

Mark would go on and serve during the duration to the Korean War earning FIVE Purple Hearts.

For the rest of Mark’s story, click on the pdf below.

Sloan Mark

Please contact the St. Charles County Veterans Museum Oral History project at sccvetsmuseum@gmail.com or call 636-294-2657 for more information and lets’ talk. We want to hear from you because we know…Every Veteran has a story.