Robert Jean McLaughlin

Robert Jean McLaughlin, 88, died of natural causes February 23, 2010. Born in Appleton, Wis., he moved to Hawthorne, Calif. at the age of two. He attended Los Angeles City College, UCLA, and took ESMWT courses.

He served in the U.S. Army, 7th Division during WWII in Okinawa and Korea. He wrote about his experiences in a book published in 2002. He was promoted to staff sergeant during the Okinawa battle where he was wounded and awarded a Purple Heart.

He led a Boy Scout troop for five years and was active in the Resurrection Lutheran Church in Torrance, Calif.

He married his college sweetheart,...