Photographed in Columbia, South Carolina in 2018

Paul Fleming was born February 1, 1925 in Wichita Falls, Texas and grew up in Archer City and Austin. He was drafted into the Army in 1945, completed basic training at Camp Roberts, California, and Infantry Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1946.

Fleming was assigned to the 1^st Battalion, 57^th Infantry Regiment (PS), 12^th Division at Camp O’Donnell, in the Philippines, the site the Japanese Imperial Army used to hold American and Filipino prisoners at the end of the Bataan Death March.

After serving in the Philippines, Fleming returned to Texas, remained in the Army Reserves and retired as a Colonel in the Army Corps of Engineers in 1979. He completed his education at Texas A&M, where he received a B.S. Degree in Management Engineering in 1950.

He retired from the Gulf Oil Corporation (later Chevron Corporation) in 1988, has three children, 9 grandchildren, and resides in Aiken, South Carolina.