LaVerne Walter Busmire was born 11 January 1930 in Medina, New York. He and his family moved to Colorado in the 1940s. He enlisted in the US Army ahead of the Korean War, and served as a Staff Sergeant with a Signal Corps unit in the theater. He and his unit worked on deciphering encoded enemy transmissions. His uniform shows the patch for the US Army Ryukyus Command (established 27 February 1950). LaVerne passed away on 24 May 2021.