Luther was a resident of Stanislaus County for 74 years. Frances’ maiden name was Frances June Correll. ‘Ben’ and Frances were married for 62 years. Luther was active duty military for 20 years 22 days. In November of 1945 Luther enlisted in the United States Army. He trained as finance clerk / typist at Camp Beale before going to Japan. Interestingly enough Luther became a finance clerk for General MacArthur's command in Japan, both Luther and General MacArthur were from Arkansas. In 1950, Luther received his first Medal of Honor at Ft. Richardson Alaska. In 1951 after reenlisting he began special training under the 77th Fighter Squadron as a paratrooper at Ft Benning GA. By 1958 he was in the 24th Signal Battalion Alpha Company. He then spent several years in the Philippines (among other countries) as a part of the 61st Signal Battalion, specializing in radio communications. With a solid communications understanding, Luther reenlisted May 1968. Sergeant Shapley was a part of the US Army Command Europe after training at the USAR Electronic Proving Ground. Luther retired after returning home from Germany, he spent his remaining years as a small business owner, beloved husband, father, and grandfather.
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