Paul Purnell Life Timeline

Childhood

3/31/1939 - Purnell is born and raised in Momence, IL (in Kankakee Co.)

9/1945-6/1946 - Attended Momence Grade School

9/1946-6/1947 - Had moved with his family and attended Grant Park Grade School in Grant Park, IL

1947 - Moved with family to Normal, IL

9/1947-6/1953 - Attended the Illinois Soldier's and Sailor's Children's School in Normal, IL

9/1953-6/1957 - Attended University High School in Normal while living at 400 East Lincoln Street

6/1957 - Graduated from University High

9/1957-3/1959 - Attended Illinois State Normal University as a History Major while living at 304 North School Street and at the YMCA on Washington Street in Bloomington

Military

3/1959 - Joined up with the Marine Corps

3/1959-6/1959 - Lived and trained at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, CA

8/1959-5/1960 - Trained at NAVCOMMTRACEN in Imperial Beach, CA to become a communications man

6/1960-11/1962 - Duty in San Miguel, Philippines

1/1962-5/1962 - Temporary Duty in Pleiku, Vietnam

12/1962-5/1963 - A student at NAVCOMMTRACEN in Pensacola, FL

6/1963-6/1965 - Duty with the 1st Radio Battalion in Hawaii

11/1963-12/1963 - Temporary Duty in Fuchu, Japan

5/1964-9/1964 - Temporary Duty in Khe Sahn, Vietnam

6/1965-5/1967 - Duty in Kamiseya, Japan

9/1966-10/1966 - Temporary Duty in the Philippines

5/1967 - Student at Sea Survival School in Numazu, Japan

6/1967-7/1967 - Student at School for Instructors in Norfolk, VA

7/1967-1/1970 - An instructor at NAVCOMMTRACENTER in Pensacola, FL

1969 - Attended classes at Pensacola Junior College

2/1970-6/1971 - Duty in Phu Bai, Vietnam

6/1971-8/1972 - Duty at Marine Corps Development Center in Quantico, VA, at 2nd Radio at Camp Lejeune, NC, and at Craig Manufacturing at Lawrence, MA

8/1972-6/1974 - Attended Illinois State University in the Armed Forces Program and earned his Bachelor of Science in Social Science

6/1974-12/1977 - Duty with the 2nd Radio in Camp Lejeune, NC

5/1974-8/1974 - Duty with Army Security in Ft. Devens, MA, along with temporary duty in Cherry Point, NC and with a Teamwork/Bonded Item duty in Europe

12/1977-9/1978 - Duty with the 2nd Marine Division in Camp Lejeune, NC

9/30/1978 - Left the Marine Corps for the Marine Corps Reserve

Post Military

12/1978-9/1980 - Worked as a route man and inventory clerk at ISU

9/1980-6/1982 - Earned 2nd Bachelor of Science degree at ISU

1983 - Earned his Master's Degree in Criminal Justice

1983-1985 - Worked as an inmate counselor at the McLean County Jail

1985-c. 1991 - Worked as Court Services officer in Mclean County

1987 - Suffered a severe heart attack

1996 - Underwent a kidney transplant

1998 - Diagnosed with skin cancer

6/29/2003 - Passed away in Normal at the age of 64

Paul Purnell March 31, 1939 - June 29, 2003 Biography Paul Purnell was born on March 31, 1939 in Momence, IL. He was the son of Dewey M. and Maude (Gribbin) Purnell. Paul was the youngest of six children, the oldest of which was sixteen years the elder of Paul. Naomi, Dewey Jr., Leona, Edmund, Grace, and Ruth were Paul's siblings. The Purnell family owned a grocery store in Momence, where Purnell spent his first year of public school. At some point circa 1946, Paul's parents separated, and Paul, along with his older sister Grace, moved around with his mother to Grant Park and then to Normal. Here Paul and Grace attended the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's School (ISSCS) in Normal, except for living for a short while in Bradley, Illinois for the 1949-1950 school year. Paul was active in the Boy Scouts from 1950 to 1953 while at ISSCS. Purnell graduated from the children's school in spring of 1953. Paul attended University High School in Normal after this, which is where most of the students from ISSCS were sent. Paul was very active in the different activities that U-High offered. He was a two year starter at offensive guard and a one-year starter at linebacker on the school's football team. His senior year, Paul was named captain of the football team. That season, Purnell earned spots on all-city and all-conference teams. In addition to his football proficiency, Purnell was captain of the school's wrestling team and was the catcher for U-High's baseball team. Paul was popular at U-High, and was even crowned the homecoming king. After graduating from U-High, Paul attended Illinois State Normal University as a History major for a few semesters. At ISNU, Purnell was a member of the wrestling team and also was a member of the Gamma Phi circus, in which he participated as a gymnast.

1959 was an important year for Paul. His sister Grace, to whom he was very close, passed away at some point that year. Also, this was the year that Paul decided to leave ISNU and Normal and to join the Marine Corps. His family possessed a rich history as far as military service went. His father, Dewey Sr., was in the infantry in World War I. Dewey Sr. was involved in four major engagements in the war and also earned a silver star for gallantry in action. Dewey Jr., Paul's oldest brother, participated in World War II in the Medical Corps. Edmund, Paul's other brother, was in the Air Force during both World War II and the Korean War. Here, Edmund won such honors as the Germany Medal of Occupation and the Defense Service Medal. One of the most touching photographs from the collection features a young Paul at ISSCS, greeting Edmund while his brother was home on leave. Both of these aspects probably affected Purnell's decision to join the military, where he went on to have perhaps a more illustrious career than any of the other members of his family had.

In March of 1959, Purnell went to San Diego, California for training. At some point during his training, Paul decided to become or was asked to become an intelligence and communications specialist. Purnell went to Imperial Beach, California to receive the training necessary for intelligence work at NAVCOMMTRACENTER. When his training was finished in June of 1960, Purnell was sent off to the Philippines, where he probably did some routine intelligence work or became more familiar with equipment or methods in communications. By 1962, the United States was becoming more and more involved in the conflict in Vietnam. In January, as part of the 1st Composite Radio Company, Paul served near Pleiku, Vietnam. Pleiku is located in central Vietnam near Cambodia. The 1st Composite Radio was the first Marine cryptologic detachment to be involved in Vietnam. His work in cryptology made the possibility that he was involved in the actual fighting doubtful. Paul remained stationed in Pleiku for five months, after which time he returned to the Philippines. By December of 1962, Paul was reassigned to Pensacola, Florida for more intelligence training. From June of 1963 until June of 1965, Purnell was assigned to duty with the 1st Radio in Hawaii. In 1963, Paul saw temporary duty in Fuchu, Japan, where he was able to go sightseeing at Mount Fuji and in Tokyo. Paul also was sent back to Vietnam in 1964 at Khe Sahn, which is more north in Vietnam than Pleiku. He served with communications in Khe Sahn for four months.

After his duty in Hawaii was finished, Purnell was assigned to Kamiseya, Japan, where he was to work on communications for U.S. military ships on the seas in Southeast Asia. Paul worked in Japan from June of 1965 until May of 1967. After his stint in Kamiseya was finished, Purnell was sent to Norfolk, Virginia in order to receive training necessary for becoming a communications instructor. After his training in Virginia was completed, Purnell was assigned as an instructor in Pensacola, Florida, where he taught from June of 1967 until January of 1970. The photo collection for Purnell includes many class pictures from Pensacola of the intelligence students who Purnell trained. From his time in Pensacola, Paul seemed to develop his interests of collecting seashells and caring for poodle dogs, both of which can be seen in photographs from the collection. During his stay in Pensacola, Purnell returned, at least part-time, to college. He attended classes at Pensacola Junior College in 1969.

Paul left Pensacola in January of 1970 because he was sent, for the third and final time, to Vietnam. Purnell was assigned near Phu Bai, which is about the same latitude as Khe Sahn but is located on the coast of the South China Sea. One of the documents from his intelligence work in Phu Bai that stands out is the administrative order by a general to keep Purnell away from even a remote threat of capture. Paul undoubtedly had knowledge of a great deal of intelligence information which would have proved hazardous in the hands of the Viet Cong. Phu Bai was Purnell's longest stay in Vietnam, and his only duty there of over a year. He left the country of Vietnam in June of 1971, where he proceeded to work at a variety of military jobs. These jobs ranged from working with the 2nd Radio Battalion in North Carolina to working on Marine Corps development in Quantico, Virginia. In Quantico, Purnell was a part of a team that developed the "Special Intelligence/Electronic Warfare Coordination Center." This was a bulletproof, box-like structure that intelligence men could safely occupy to transmit and/or decode messages.

In August of 1972, Purnell was allowed, with the Marine Corps' support, to return home to Normal to attend Illinois State University. Here, Purnell participated in the Armed Forces program and by doing so received his Bachelor of Science degree for Social Studies, which he would further after his military career ended. After Purnell received his degree in June of 1974, he returned to the Marine Corps and was assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he continued to work with the 2nd Radio Division. Throughout his duty in North Carolina, Purnell was given temporary assignments all along the east coast. In the summer of 1974, Purnell was given the opportunity to work with the Navy on a Teamwork/Bonded Item trip to Europe. This was a NATO exercise, so Paul worked with soldiers from many of the European nations. Paul was able to visit places like Ireland and the Netherlands during the exercise for sightseeing purposes. Around this time, questions from the camp's medical staff concerning Purnell's weight were raised. After being put on several diets and exercise programs, the chief medical officer decided that Paul's weight was okay for the type of body he had and reduced the camp's maximum weight for him. In December of 1977, Purnell transferred from the 2nd Radio Division at Camp Lejeune to the 2nd Marine Division at Lejeune. By late 1978, Purnell had been involved in the Marine Corps for almost exactly twenty years. On September 30th of 1978, Purnell retired from the Marine Corps to the Marine Corps Reserve, in which he would serve for another ten years from his home in Normal.

After leaving full-time military duty, Purnell took a job as a route man and inventory clerk at Illinois State University until September of 1980. At this point, Purnell decided that he should return to school in order to work at the type of job he wanted to do. As a result, Paul attended ISU for the third time and received another Bachelor of Science degree in the spring of 1982. Purnell then continued his schooling at ISU to earn his Master's Degree in Criminal Justice in 1983. With this degree, Purnell took a job as an inmate counselor at the McLean County Jail in Bloomington until 1985. At this point, Paul accepted a new job as a court services officer for McLean County. While working at this, Purnell received quite a few awards for outstanding service to the county. Judging from pictures and clippings from the collection, Purnell was also able to make quite a few friends and affect peoples' lives through his work.

In 1987, Purnell suffered a severe heart attack. Though he was able to eventually continue working at his job until about 1991, this was only the first of the many health problems that would plague Paul the rest of his life. Throughout the 1990's Purnell was diagnosed with skin cancer, basal and squamous cell carcinoma, blood clots, and Type II diabetes. In 1996, Paul had to undergo a kidney transplant. Purnell believed that Agent Orange's use in Vietnam caused some of these problems after reading materials about the effects of the chemical, but agencies he contacted neither accepted nor denied this suggestion. In the 1990's, Purnell also began to seek religion. Paul became a member of Northbridge Baptist Church in Normal, but his attendance was limited due to illnesses. Talking with his church's pastor seemed to ease some of the pain from Paul's infirmities. By his final days, Purnell was required to take large amounts of prescriptions to ease his failing health.

Paul Purnell, a decorated Marine, a well-liked McLean County employee, and a member of Northbridge Baptist Church, passed away on June 29, 2003 at the age of 64 years.

This collection contains documents, newspaper clippings, and other two-dimensional objects that Mr. Purnell compiled throughout his lifetime. All of these items are located in one box, from his birth until his passing.

Paul Purnell Collection McLean County Museum of History McLean County, Illinois Collection Condition Prior to Sorting The collection of Paul Purnell arrived at the museum stored almost entirely in various photograph albums and scrapbooks. There were about 15 albums in all. Some were packed full and some had very little inside of them. The few items too big to be kept in albums, such as various awards and hard-backed books, were stored loosely in boxes. The categorization of the items of the collection was somewhat chronologically-based. For example, one album included mostly photographs from his military duty while another mostly included photographs of Purnell's friends from working for McLean County. Much of my sorting of photographs was based on the title of Purnell's albums. Only about half of the albums were labeled, but labels such as "Dong Bak Ma" and "Pensacola" were very helpful and provided me with a solid categorization of the materials inside. Labels on albums were mostly on the albums concerning military material, and especially on albums containing Vietnam-related objects. This, of course, was very helpful for my sorting, considering the larger interest in his Vietnam years. Mr. Purnell also labeled the backs of some of the photographs (often the military photos). Many of his more recent photographs of friends were unlabelled, thus making many of Purnell's acquaintances unidentified. Purnell also grouped similar documents together, which made sorting easier. For example, many of his U-High football clippings or documents were placed together in the albums. Many of the awards from military duty that Purnell received were together as well in the albums.

Everything from the collection had to be removed from the albums due to the corrosive nature of the glue in albums used to keep items in place. Also, Purnell had used scotch tape on many of the newspaper clippings to keep them from falling out. Due to the age of many of the photos and clippings, the tape could not be removed without hurting the item, so it remains on some documents and photographs. I was able to use Purnell's storage methods to assemble the collection more appropriately and more conveniently. Overall, Purnell had taken good care of his collection, as nothing at all was ruined by poor storage. The photographs also remained in manageable condition throughout their album storage.