Veteran of the Month

Jefferson County Commissioners gathered at Cedarwood Assisted Living on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, to honor Dwain P. Compton as Veteran of the Month.Compton was born March 4, 1931, on a farm in southern Jefferson County. He attended grade school in a one room schoolhouse named Hopewell. He attended high school at Mahaska High School.Compton attended one year at Fairbury Junior College before enlisting in the Marine Corps January 18, 1952. He entered Boot Camp at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California.He was next transferred to an Advanced Naval Air Station in Olathe, Kansas studying to be a “Final Approach Controller.”Compton served in Korea and Japan where his primary duties were conducting emergency repairs and services on damaged aircraft.Sometime around 1955 Compton returned to the United States and entered active duty with the Marine Reserves in Lincoln, and Buckley Naval Station in Denver, Colorado. Sergeant Compton was honorably discharged in 1960 after serving eight years in the military. He received the Korean United Nations Medal, Unit Citations and Good Conduct Medals along with the admiration and respect of the United States of America and family and friends.Compton’s early years of farming in Nebraska were with his father. Over the next several decades he added to his farming operations in both Nebraska and Kansas. Compton was partial to International Harvester Tractors and developed a strong affection for raising livestock. His favorite cattle were Herefords, both registered and unregistered.Compton was a long time County Commissioner in Washington County, Kansas, and recalls working with the Commissioners in Jefferson County. After many years of farming and raising cattle, Compton retired and moved to the north part of Fairbury where he lived until health concerns dictated that he move to Cederwood Assisted Living, where he now resides.He has outlived most of his family and friends and now memory of his accomplishments throughout life are not easily brought to mind. The one thing that stands out about Compton is that he has been generous with his time and talents throughout his life and the resources at his disposal will benefit generations long into the future.Compton has only good things to relate about the quality staff and care he currently receives at Cedarwood.Compton still enjoys visits from his granddaughter Ashley (Tyler) Wit and their daughters (Grace and Lillian). He has a niece (Cindy and Roger Johnson) and nephew (Michael and LaDonna Munoz) that live in Kansas.

James Allen

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