Many of our area men served faithfully and heroically during our war involvement's. The few stories, following, are just samples of the caliber of the men who went to war from Central Montana--stories that were undoubtedly repeated many times over, by others.

  Ensign Theron A. Conolly of Valentine rose from the rank of an enlisted man in January of 1937 to become the skipper of his own ship on October 14, 1944.
  Theron was the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Conolly of Valentine and a 1936 graduate of Roy High School.
  Theron enlisted in August of 1936, but had to wait until after his 18th birthday to report for duty. He served four years on the heroic aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and was aboard ship when she was torpedoed in the battle for the Marshall Islands (WWII). He served on the USS Lardner, a destroyer, for a year in the Guadacanal and Solomon Island Campaigns. He was in the war zone for 10 months.
  The highlight of the career of this quiet, unassuming, 26 year old skipper, took place on October 14, 1944 when at the Andersen and Christoferson Navy Yards in San Francisco he was made Master of the USS Moanahonga tug boat.

  Lieut. Harold Puckett the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Puckett was reported missing in action in the South Pacific in August of circa 1943-44. He joined the army shortly after the U.S. entered WWII and made a fine record and had many advancements.
  He was one of a crew of eleven of a large bomber flying near Saipan when the plane crashed into the sea. Three of the crew were rescued, one was known killed ^{P. 383} and the other seven, among them Puckett, were never found.
  The family received a letter from Harold dated August 13th, the day before the crash.

  EX-POW Tells Story--In November, 1939, Bishop went overseas. He didn't see America for six long years. John Joseph Bishop was a member of the Marines and had served 3 1/2 years in China and Japan when World War II broke out. He was taken prisoner by the Japanese at Manila. He went through the "Death March", the Hell-Hole ships, salt mines, gardens, etc.
  Frogs, snakes and dried grasshoppers were on the menu for Bishop in a Japanese prison camp, where he was sent after the fall of Corregidor. He worked, along with other American prisoners, in coal mines and on farms.
  "On rare occasions, like the Emperors birthday, we were fed dog and cat meat, but that was a delicacy," Bishop revealed. As punishment for stealing a small onion, the NATTC marine was beaten with a club and burned around the legs.
  He said the Japanese didn't intend to keep them another winter when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and soon after they were rescued. He weighed about 130 lbs. He was normally a 6 ft. 2 in. 190 pound man. He barely made it. He lost all of his hair and teeth; he had beriberi. They kept him in a rehabilitation camp at Farrigut, Idaho for almost a year.
  He stayed in the Marines and served in several hot spots around the world until he retired after 20 years in the service.
  He was in Fukuoka Prison on the Island of Honshu, Japan.

Receives Bronze Star--Ensign Sherman, 12 year Navy Veteran, received a Presidential Citation for "meriterious service as a diver" for services during operations against enemy Japanese forces in the Pacific War Area. Sherman made brave repair, salvage, inspection and rescue dives; many during raids and while under fire, from November of 1942 to June of 1943.

Albert Komarek was a member of the Army Air Corps from 1946 to 1949. During the Korean conflict he was recalled to active service in 1950 and served in Guam. He was discharged in 1951. In 1957 he joined the Air National Guard and during his tenure of service, while he was living in Great Falls, he was selected to be one of the guards for the Montana Centennial Train, in 1962.
  The Montana National Guard accompanied the train as far as New York where the Air National Guard took over and accompanied the train west on its tour through Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland and other cities.
 Albert retired in 1983 with the rank of Master Sergeant.
 
 

  The Roy Post #96 Legion Auxiliary came into being in May of 1931. Charter members were: Ida S. Hanson, Pauline Grimme, Mona Thomas, Alby Wass, Gladys Kalal, Antonette Kalal, Ida M. Mead, Lena Faulds, Elsie Messenger, Grace Rindal, Ruth Mitten, Mildred Distad.
  The current officers are: president, Regina Zahn; vice president, Betty Heil, secretary, Rosalie English and Chaplain, Betty Maruska.
  Projects the auxiliary has continued working on throughout the years are: sending a girl to Girl's State each year, poppy sales and sending items to Ft. Harrison for Christmas.

  At the end of WWI the biggest percentage of young men who marched off to war from this area, chose not to return. These places were absorbed by other homesteaders or were left and went to the county for taxes. A few paid the taxes on theirs and kept them for years, doing nothing with them, or renting them out.
  WWII took a lot of young men out of the country, again. These were mostly fellows who were just out of school and not yet established on ranches. At war's end many of these, too, also chose not to return.
  During the war efforts, WWI and WWII men, women, and children on the home front kept busy doing their share to support the men on the war front. There was rationing during WWII. To buy commodities such as sugar, coffee, meat, gasoline, and rubber products, etc., one had to redeem coupons. Every citizen was alloted a coupon book. For so many coupons you could get a pound of sugar, a pound of meat, a gallon of gas etc. Many learned to do without. Coupons were hoarded to buy wanted or needed items. People would cut down on some things or several would pool coupons, to enable them to purchase the desired item. Sugar was especially desired at holiday cookie and candy making time. Most of which was sent to 'the boys'.
  Women knitted for the Red Cross who supplied the yarn. The knitted socks, mittens, scarves, and sweaters were for the men on the front in cold climates and for European civilian war refugees. The Red Cross also raised money for various causes and local units would have drives for this purpose.
  The Roy Chapter of the Red Cross was organized in July of 1917. Mrs. O.J. Romunstad was the first chairman; George Breckenridge, vice chairman and Alby Kalal was secretary. By 1919 there was a membership of 123.
  On March 23, 1943 it was reported that the Red Cross goal of $450 for Roy was "passed before noon." The total went beyond $500. This money was used to aid ^{P. 385} servicemen around the world in difficult situations. Roy Coulter relates a couple of times he was assisted during WWII. On one occasion he was given a place to sleep at a Red Cross headquarters in California. "We only got $21 a month, not enough for anything. I was out of money and had no place to go in a strange city." Another time when he was stationed in Alaska and was home on leave he became very ill. It was the Red cross that notified his commanding officer, enabling him to remain at home until he recovered. "They wouldn't have accepted my call or a relative's call, but the Red Cross could intercede." Still another time he was given the money to come home to attend his father's funeral. "I never was asked to repay them, although I did when I could afford to", Coulter said.
  Money was also used to support the 'canteens' for servicemen, around the world.
  The Red Cross units of Roy and Fergus were very active and supported in a big way.
  Everyone saved their newspapers and tin cans which children collected and delivered to collection points, mainly at the schools. These were all recycled.
  Many were the women, and men, who were not accepted into the service, who flocked to the shipyards on the west coast, from this area. It was probably the beginning of the end of 'woman's place in the home'. They took over many of the jobs previously held by men, and to everyone's surprise did them and did them well, even to the farming and ranching business. More surprising they found out that they liked working out and away from the kitchen.

  In the early 60's the Department of Defense began placing Minuteman Missiles in Central Montana. By the late 1960's there were 200 land based missiles buried beneath the surface in this area, six of them and a 'control' base located in the Roy-Fergus section.
  The silo bottom, that houses the missiles, lies 82 feet below ground level. The steel liner inside the excavation is 92 feet long and over 13 feet in diameter. A steel and concrete equipment room surrounds the liner. All that is visible, except at the control base, is a cement pad encircled in a protective fence, above ground.
  Outside of the initial installation of the missiles and periodical updating, they have made little impact on the area and except for the presence of air force personnel that make daily checks, people tend to forget them. But they are there, nevertheless, a constant reminder of the nuclear age we live in.

• Speakers stand in the middle of main street of Roy during a celebration to raise funds for WWI.
• Raising money for WWI a Parade down Main Street Roy, Montana.
• A WWII Sailor Boy Ralph Horachek.