Editing James Garner (section)

==Early life==
Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner on April 7, 1928, in Denver, Oklahoma, (now under [[Lake Thunderbird]]).<ref name="Yantz">{{cite journal |last1=Yantz |first1=Mickel |title=The Maverick Comes Home to Oklahoma |journal=[[Chronicles of Oklahoma]] |date=Summer 2024 |volume=102 |issue=2 |pages=192–197}}</ref> His parents were Weldon Warren Bumgarner (1901–1986),<ref>Bumgarner is a surname of German origin, from German [[Baumgartner]] and [[Baumgärtner]], in English often written Baumgardner, Bumgardner, and Bumgartner</ref> a widower, and Mildred Scott ([[birth name|née]] Meek; 1907–1933), who died five years after his birth. His father was of part German ancestry. He claims his mother was half Cherokee.<ref>His surname is spelled, 'Bumgarner', as stated by Garner in an interview at "Archive of American Television Interview with James Garner (Part 1 of 6)"</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05jyQPeLThsC&pg=PA5|title=The Garner Files: A Memoir|first1=James|last1=Garner|first2=Jon|last2=Winokur|first3=Julie|last3=Andrews|page=5|year=2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451642629}}</ref><ref name="ABC bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.wchstv.com/abc/8simplerules/jamesgarner.shtml|title=James Garner|publisher=WCHS TV|access-date=September 12, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519233352/http://www.wchstv.com/abc/8simplerules/jamesgarner.shtml|archive-date=May 19, 2009}}</ref><ref name="GoodHousekeeping-Mar76"><br />
(US Census records for 1900 show that Mr. Garner's maternal ancestor, Charles Meek, listed as "white", resided on the Choctaw Nation in Oklahoma.){{cite journal|date=March 1976|title=James Garner: A Really Nice Guy makes Good|journal=Good Housekeeping|location=New York City|publisher=The Hearst Corporation}} Page 46, photo caption: "Though Gigi Garner, 18, ..." Page 46, JG: "I was a terrible student and I never actually graduated from high school, but I got my diploma in the Army." Page 48: "my two daughters, Kim and Gigi" Page 48: "to his darkly pretty, very bright wife, Lois" Page 48, Lois: "When I first met him, I was an emotional wreck. My seven-year-old daughter, Kim, was in a hospital with polio." Page 58: "Jim's mother, who was half Cherokee Indian, a beautiful woman who died when he was five." (The interview was conducted on the set of ''Rockford Files'' and at his home with his wife and two daughters present, who lived at home. Kim's age was given as "27").</ref> His older brothers were [[Jack Garner]], also an actor, and Charles Warren Bumgarner (1924–1984), a school administrator.<ref name="normantranscript-x1492495785" >{{cite news|first=Andy|last=Rieger|title=Jack Garner dies at age 84|url=http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x1492495785/Jack-Garner-dies-at-age-84|work=[[Norman Transcript]]|date=September 15, 2011|access-date=September 28, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=<!--  https://web.archive.org/web/20120108175409/https://www.normantranscript.com/headlines/x1492495785/jack-garner-dies-at-age-84/  -->https://archive.today/20130104060320/http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x1492495785/Jack-Garner-dies-at-age-84|archive-date=January 4, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Dame Bernice Lake dies|url=https://variety.com/2011/scene/news/jack-garner-dies-at-85-1118042851/|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=September 14, 2011|access-date=September 28, 2011}}</ref> His family was Methodist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.huntingtonnews.net/12746|title=Book Review: 'The Garner Files': Jim Rockford a Curmudgeon? Say It Ain't So!|publisher=Huntington News|access-date=April 4, 2012}}</ref> The family ran a general store at Denver Corner on the east side of Norman. 

After their mother's death, Garner and his brothers were sent to live with relatives.

Garner attended Wilson Elementary School, Norman Junior High and [[Norman High School]] ([[Norman Public Schools]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Transcript |first=Andy Rieger {{!}} For The |date=2022-05-22 |title=Column: How about a Norman celebrity home tour? |url=https://www.normantranscript.com/opinion/column-how-about-a-norman-celebrity-home-tour/article_bcdd9fe0-d922-11ec-94ae-e7c55b58422d.html |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=Norman Transcript |language=en}}</ref>

Garner was reunited with his family in 1934 when his father remarried,<ref name="Indie2">{{cite news|first=Robert |last=Sellers |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/james-garner-the-actor-known-for-his-portrayals-of-an-honourable-man-in-a-dishonourable-world-9617517.html|title=James Garner: The actor known for his portrayals of an honourable man in a dishonourable world &#124; Obituaries &#124; News|newspaper=[[The Independent]]|access-date=24 July 2016}}</ref> the first of several times.<ref name=GarnerFilesP15>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W6jiYnyLRgoC&pg=PA15|title=The Garner Files: A Memoir|first1=James|last1=Garner|first2=Jon|last2=Winokur|first3=Julie|last3=Andrews|page=15|year=2011|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451642612}}</ref> He had a volatile relationship with one of his stepmothers, Wilma, who beat all three boys. He said that his stepmother also punished him by forcing him to wear a dress in public. When he was 14 years old, he fought with her, knocking her down and choking her to keep her from retaliating against him physically. She left the family and never returned.<ref>Grobel, Lawrence. ''The Art of the Interview''. New York: Three Rivers Press. 2004, p. 161. {{ISBN|1-4000-5071-5}}</ref><ref name=Strait>Strait, Raymond. ''James Garner''. New York, New York: St. Martin's Press. 1985. {{ISBN|0-312-43967-9}}</ref> His brother Jack later commented, "She was a damn no-good woman".<ref name=Strait />

:"I managed to steer pretty clear of it... I was doing all of it, but I never really got caught. I was a bad boy, but I just, you know, they never caught me at it." — James Garner<ref name="Triplett">{{Cite web |last=Triplett |first=Gene |title=The Garner files Retrospective honors actor's career |url=https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/2001/07/27/the-garner-files-retrospective-honors-actors-career/62137334007/ |access-date=2024-04-25 |website=The Oklahoman |language=en-US}}</ref>

Garner's last stepmother was Grace, whom he said he loved and called "Mama Grace", and he felt that she was more of a mother to him than anyone else had been.<ref name=GarnerFilesP15/>

Shortly after Garner's father's marriage to Wilma broke up, his father moved to [[Los Angeles]], leaving Garner and his brothers in Norman.  After working at several jobs he disliked, Garner joined the [[United States Merchant Marine|U.S. Merchant Marine]] at age 16 near the end of [[World War II]]. He liked the work and his shipmates, but he had chronic [[seasickness]]<ref name="Indie2"/> and only lasted a year.<ref name="Triplett"/>

:"Garner followed his father to Los Angeles in 1945, attending Hollywood High while helping his dad lay carpet. The next five years were back and forth between California and Oklahoma, during which Garner worked in chick hatcheries and the oil fields, as a truck driver and grocery clerk, and even as a swim trunks model for Jantzen..."<ref name="Triplett"/>

After World War II, Garner joined his father in Los Angeles and was enrolled at [[Hollywood High School]], where he was voted the most popular student.  A high school gym teacher recommended him for a job modeling [[Jantzen]] bathing suits.<ref name=CunneffT-People>Cunneff, Tom. [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,20146765,00.html "Jim Dandy"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303213134/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0%2C20146765%2C00.html|date=March 3, 2016 }}. ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' (February 7, 2005) Retrieved on May 30, 2008</ref> It paid well ([[United States dollar|$]]25 an hour) but, in his first interview for the Archives of American Television,<ref name=GoogleVideo>[http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22archive+of+american+television+interview+with+james+garner%22 James Garner interview]{{dead link|date=November 2016|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} at [[Archive of American Television]] – (c/o Google Video; March 17, 1999)</ref> he said he hated modeling. He soon quit and returned to Norman.

There he played football and basketball at [[Norman High School]] and competed on the track and golf teams.<ref name=TW-OKIE-2007>[https://archive.today/20120914172629/http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070715_1_CE12_spanc35828 "Proud to be an OKIE"]. ''[[Tulsa World]]'' (July 15, 2007)</ref> However, he dropped out in his senior year. In a 1976 ''[[Good Housekeeping]]'' magazine interview, he admitted, "I was a terrible student and I never actually graduated from high school, but I got my diploma in the Army."<ref name="GoodHousekeeping-Mar76"/>

===Military service===
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:James Garner receives the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.jpg|thumb|right|Garner receives a belated Korean War Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster at Los Angeles in 1983]] -->

Garner enlisted in the [[California Army National Guard]], serving his first 7 months in [[California]]. He was deployed to [[Korea]] during the [[Korean War]], and spent 14 months as a rifleman in the [[5th RCT|5th Regimental Combat Team]], then part of the 24th Infantry Division. He was wounded twice: in the face and hand by [[Fragmentation (weaponry)|fragmentation]] from a [[Mortar (weapon)|mortar]] round, and in the buttocks by [[friendly fire]] from U.S. fighter jets as he dove into a foxhole. Garner would later joke that "there was a lot of room involving my rear end. How could they miss?"<ref name="UPI">{{cite web |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/01/24/The-US-government-has-finally-given-actor-James-Garner/8102412232400/ |title=The U.S. government has finally given actor James Garner... |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=24 January 1983 |website=UPI |access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref>

Garner received the [[Purple heart winners|Purple Heart]] in Korea for his initial wounding. He also qualified for a second Purple Heart (for which he was eligible, since he was hit by friendly fire which "was released with the full intent of inflicting damage or destroying enemy troops or equipment"),<ref>{{cite news |last=Keeran |first=Joshua |date=24 December 2020 |title=Who is eligible to receive Purple Heart medal? |url=https://www.delgazette.com/2020/12/24/who-is-eligible-to-receive-purple-heart-medal/ |work=The Delaware Gazette |access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref> but did not actually receive it until 1983, 32 years after the event.<ref name=CunneffT-People/><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=25 January 1983 |title=Actor James Garner Receives Purple Heart 32 Years Late |work=The Oklahoman}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=25 January 1983 |title=Garner Has a Heart...30 Years Late |work=Philadelphia Daily News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=12 May 1995 |title=Jim Garner Gets Behind a Cause |work=Philadelphia Daily News}}</ref> This was apparently the result of an error which was not rectified until Garner appeared on [[Good Morning America]] in November 1982, with presenter [[David Hartman (TV personality)|David Hartman]] making inquiries "after he learned of the case on his television show".<ref name="UPI"/> At the ceremony where he received his second Purple Heart, Garner understated: "After 32 years, it's better to receive this now than posthumously".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kpbs.org/news/military/2014/07/21/james-garner-korean-war-purple-heart-army-marines |title=James Garner Served In Korean War, Awarded Purple Heart Twice  |last=Roth |first=Beth Ford |date=21 July 2014 |website=KPBS |access-date=2 December 2023}}</ref> Reflecting on his military service, Garner recalled: "Do I have fond memories? I guess if you get together with some buddies it's fond. But it really wasn't. It was cold and hard. I was one of the lucky ones."

====Awards====
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan="12"|[[File:Combat Infantry Badge.svg|200px]]
|-
|colspan="12"|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=MM Combat bar.JPG|width=106}}
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=USA Merchant Marine Atlantic War Zone Medal ribbon.png|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Merchant Marine Victory ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106}}
|-
|colspan="12"|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}}{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Korean Presidential Unit Citation.png|width=106}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
|colspan="12"|[[Combat Infantry Badge]]
|-
|colspan="12"|[[Purple Heart Medal|Purple Heart]]
|-
| colspan="4"|[[National Defense Service Medal|National Defense<br />Service Medal]]
| colspan="4"|[[Korean Service Medal|Korean War<br />Service Medal]]
| colspan="4"|[[Merchant Marine Combat Bar|Merchant Marine<br />Combat Medal]]
|-
| colspan="4"|[[Merchant Marine Atlantic War Zone Medal|Merchant Marine<br />Atlantic War Zone Medal]]
| colspan="4"|[[Merchant Marine World War II Victory Medal|Merchant Marine<br />World War II Victory Medal]]
| colspan="4"|[[United Nations Service Medal for Korea|United Nations<br />Service Medal for Korea]]
|-
| colspan=6|[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|United States Army<br />Presidential Unit Citation]]
| colspan="6"|[[Presidential Unit Citation (South Korea)|Republic of Korea<br />Presidential Unit Citation]]
|}