Editing Edwin Meese (section)

== Early life and education ==
Meese was born on December 2, 1931, in [[Oakland, California]], the eldest of four sons born to Leone (née Feldman) and Edwin Meese, Jr.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Outstanding young men of America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_5Q8AAAAIAAJ&q=leone+meese |publisher=Montgomery Junior Chamber of Commerce |year=1965 |edition=1965 |access-date=November 26, 2020 |archive-date=January 19, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119194500/https://books.google.com/books?id=_5Q8AAAAIAAJ&q=leone+meese |url-status=live }}</ref> He was raised in a practicing [[Lutheran]] family, of German descent.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59513769.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+28%2C+1987&author=Ethan+Bronner%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=EDWIN+MEESE%3A+IMAGES+IN+CONTRAST&pqatl=google |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |first=Ethan |last=Bronner |author-link=Ethan Bronner |title=Edwin Meese: Images In Contrast |date=July 28, 1987 |access-date=July 6, 2017 |archive-date=November 7, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107112914/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/59513769.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+28,+1987&author=Ethan+Bronner,+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=EDWIN+MEESE:+IMAGES+IN+CONTRAST&pqatl=google |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-04-tm-3972-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |first=Kate |last=Coleman |title=The Roots of Ed Meese : Reagan's Polemical Attorney General Has Prompted a Major Constitutional Debate, Surprising Those Who Knew Him in His Pragmatic Early Days, in the Quiet Hills of Oakland and During the Turbulent '60s |date=May 4, 1986 |access-date=July 18, 2011 |archive-date=January 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111150843/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-05-04/magazine/tm-3972_1_ed-meese/2 |url-status=live }}</ref> His father was an Oakland city government official, president of the Zion Lutheran Church, and served 24 years in the non-partisan office of Treasurer of [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]].

At age 10, Meese published along with his brothers a [[mimeograph]]ed neighborhood newspaper, the ''Weekly Herald'', and used the proceeds to buy a [[Series E bond|war bond]]. The young Meese also rode a bicycle on a paper route and worked in a drugstore. At [[Oakland High School (Oakland, California)|Oakland High School]], Meese was involved in the [[Junior State of America]] and led his high school debate team to statewide championships. He was [[valedictorian]] of Oakland High School's class of 1949.<ref name="Edwards"/>

Two weeks prior to graduation, Meese was accepted to [[Yale University]] and granted a scholarship. At Yale, Meese served as president of the [[Yale Political Union]], chairman of the Conservative Party, chairman of the [[Yale Debate Association]], and a member of the secret society [[Spade and Grave]]. Meese made the dean's list, and graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in [[political science]] in 1953.<ref name="Edwards">Edwards, Lee. ''To Preserve and Protect'', The Heritage Foundation, 2005, {{ISBN|0-89195-116-4}}.</ref>

=== Military service ===
At Yale, Meese was a member of [[Reserve Officer Training Corps|ROTC]]. Upon graduating in 1953, he obtained a commission in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] as a [[Second Lieutenant]]. He spent 24 months at [[Fort Sill]] near [[Lawton, Oklahoma]]. Meese worked in logistics, conducting installation and operations of the [[240 mm howitzer M1]]. Meese completed active duty in 1956 and continued in the [[United States Army Reserve|U.S. Army Reserve]], specializing in military intelligence. Meese retired from the Army Reserve as a [[colonel]] in 1984.<ref name="Edwards"/>