A morning to remember Staff Sgt. Roy Ellis, 1920-42

Lucas Countyans could be assured of at least one thing when Thursdays rolled around back in 1942 --- a year of great uncertainty: The Chariton Herald-Patriot would arrive in rural mail boxes courtesy of the U.S. Mail after having been delivered by carrier in Chariton the evening before.

The banner headline on the front page of the Thursday, July 9, edition carried news of a sort that had been long anticipated, "Roy Ellis Is Reported Killed in Action." Roy (left), a young coal miner who had been working with his father in the Williamson mines when he enlisted, was Lucas County's first confirmed World War II death --- although as it turned out, not the first to die.

Before all was said and done and the war had ended, approximately 55 war-related deaths would be reported on the front pages of The Herald-Patriot and The Leader. Here's the text of the article announcing Roy's death:

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Roy Ellis, 22, of Williamson, became the first announced Lucas county man killed in action in World War II when his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ellis, of Williamson, received a telegram Monday from the war department that their son was "killed in action" in the Aleutian Islands.

Mrs. Ellis, seriously ill,  has not been told of her son's death and Ellis went to work at No. 3 mine today just as usual. The family radio has been disconnected and every effort is being made to protect Mrs. Ellis from the shock that would  result if she suspected the news.

Ellis enlisted in October, 1940,  and was sent to the United States Army air corps training school at Chanute Field, Ill., where he became an expert radio man. He had been promoted to technical sergeant.

His definite job at the time he was killed is not certain but for a time he worked in the radio control tower at army airports.

Ellis was graduated from the Williamson high school. Besides his parents, he is survived by two sisters, Phelma of Kankakee, Ill., and Leda at home. It could not be learned today if the body would be returned to Williamson for burial.

While Ellis is the first announced man killed in action, one other Lucas county man is also a casualty. Andy Knapp, son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Knapp of Chariton, is reported as "missing in action" in the Philippines.

An uncle of Roy Ellis from Melcher was reported last week as "missing in action" in the Coral Sea battle.

The Japanese have been attempting to establish bases in the Aleutians for several weeks and have bombed United States bases; one at Dutch Harbor being a severe attack. Army and navy bombers have been attempting to dislodge the invaders and Ellis could have been in any of these engagements.

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Although the precise circumstances of Sgt. Ellis's death were not shared with his family for a number of years, we know now that he was serving as radioman aboard a Consolidated B-24 "Liberator" bomber on June 11, 1942, when it was hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire over Kiska Island in the western Aleutians and crashed onto a hillside overlooking Trout Lagoon, killing all 10 aboard. Roy had been flying his first combat mission.

After the war, the scattered remains of those who died were recovered, the identities of nine --- including Roy's --- were positively established and they were buried in a common grave at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in Kansas.

Lyle Morris, of Derby, who died at his battle station aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise in the Solomon Islands on Oct. 25, 1942, would become the second confirmed death reported in Lucas County newspapers.

As a result, Chariton's twin reservoirs were named in their honor during 1943 --- Lake Ellis to the west and Lake Morris to the east, both in the headwaters of Little White Breast Creek.

Although Andy Knapp, son of Joe and Ethel Knapp of Chariton, had been reported as missing in action in the Philippines on March 7, 1942, it would not be known until after the war was over that he had died of malaria on or about June 2, 1942, in a Japanese Prisoner of War camp, having survived the Bataan Death March. His was the first Lucas Countyan's life lost during World War II.

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I wrote in considerable detail about the circumstances surrounding Roy Ellis's death and the recovery of his remains in a 2015 post entitled, "For U.S. Army Air Corps Staff Sgt. Roy Ellis, 1920-1942." Follow this link if interested in reading more.