We had a wonderful time interviewing Norvall Knouse who turned 102 in April. He was born in a round barn in the middle of the 1913 flood in Wood County. His doctor had to ride though deep water to get to deliver him. He was the middle child of seven and has a baby sister who is 93 years old. They were raised on a farm which had cows, chickens, horses and raised corn , wheat and oats.

He left the farm to attend Marion Business College studying bookkeeping. In 1936 he was hired by Ohio Oil (now Marathon Oil). He was told “if you keep your nose clean you can retire from this company.” He did and retired after 40 years leaving as the Automotive Fleet Administrator over thousands of vehicles.

Norvall is a veteran of WWII. He was drafted in 1942 and was offered an exemption but refused it as “it was my turn to go.” He served in the 3RD Infantry Division as a rifle man and fought in numerous major battles including an invasion of France from the Mediterranean Sea. He was promoted to First Sergeant and led his troops into Munich on the day Hitler took his life. Norvall loved it as the troops advanced in France and liberated cities as the citizens were wonderful and the cute girls gave lots of hugs.