Veterans column: George Croom leaves Newark for World War II
Doug Stout
Guest Columnist
George H. Croom Sr. was born on Oct. 25, 1920, in Jenkins, Kentucky. His father and mother, Shep and Frankie Croom moved to Newark sometime before the 1930 census.
To George, Newark was his home. He was 23-years-old when he enlisted in the Navy on Jan. 23, 1943, leaving behind a wife and four-year-old son, George Jr. In an interview for the Licking County Library in 2014, George Jr. related a story he remembered about visiting his dad in Virginia during the war. George was pointing out the racism that existed there when he could not go anywhere to play.