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Casework Corner - Boyda's Office Can Help Retrieve Military Records
07/11/07By Adam Stolte
District Representative
Earlier this year, Joycelyn Roney of Carbondale, Kansas, learned that the Burlingame Historical Society was seeking the military records of local veterans for a new veterans memorial. She knew that her late father-in-law, Earl John Roney, had served in the Navy in World War II, so she contacted Rep. Nancy Boyda's office for help in tracking down his service records.
As a member of Rep. Boyda's constituent services staff, I often help relatives learn more about their loved ones' military history. Sometimes, as our office digs through decades-old records, we uncover long-buried stories.
Earl John Roney enlisted in the Navy in December of 1939, and he was assigned to the USS Tennessee, a 32,300-ton battleship stationed in Pearl Harbor. Two years later, on December 7, 1941, he found himself in the midst of a defining moment in U.S. history -- the "date which will live in infamy," when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and triggered America's involvement in World War II.
Over 2,300 Americans died that day, and Mr. Roney could easily have been one of them. The USS Tennessee was moored inboard from the USS West Virginia, which was devastated by Japanese bombs and torpedoes. Had Mr. Roney been stationed on the West Virginia, only a few feet away, he would probably not have survived.
But he did survive, and he served America honorably throughout World War II, through repeated hospitalizations for injuries incurred in the line of duty. On November 1, 1945, he received an honorable discharge, and he passed away many years later in 1998.
I learned much of this information from official military records, and I learned something more, too: Mr. Roney was eligible for seven medals that he had never been formally awarded.
As representatives of a Congressional office, we can request service medals on behalf of a late soldier's family. We contacted the National Personnel Records Center, who collected Roney's hard-earned medals: the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
In a moving and long-overdue ceremony on July 10, Rep. Boyda formally presented the medals to two of Mr. Roney's surviving family members, Joycelyn and Earl A. Roney.
If you'd like to learn more about late members of your own family who served in World War II or another war, please feel encouraged to contact Rep. Boyda's Topeka office at (785) 234-8111. We'd be pleased to request your loved one's military records. Not every record contains as many details as Mr. Roney's, and some older records have been lost entirely, but we'll do everything we can to help uncover your family's story.
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Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, left, presents seven medals to Joycelyn Roney and Earl Roney, survivors of late Pearl Harbor veteran Earl John Roney.
District Representative
Earlier this year, Joycelyn Roney of Carbondale, Kansas, learned that the Burlingame Historical Society was seeking the military records of local veterans for a new veterans memorial. She knew that her late father-in-law, Earl John Roney, had served in the Navy in World War II, so she contacted Rep. Nancy Boyda's office for help in tracking down his service records.
As a member of Rep. Boyda's constituent services staff, I often help relatives learn more about their loved ones' military history. Sometimes, as our office digs through decades-old records, we uncover long-buried stories.
Earl John Roney enlisted in the Navy in December of 1939, and he was assigned to the USS Tennessee, a 32,300-ton battleship stationed in Pearl Harbor. Two years later, on December 7, 1941, he found himself in the midst of a defining moment in U.S. history -- the "date which will live in infamy," when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and triggered America's involvement in World War II.
Over 2,300 Americans died that day, and Mr. Roney could easily have been one of them. The USS Tennessee was moored inboard from the USS West Virginia, which was devastated by Japanese bombs and torpedoes. Had Mr. Roney been stationed on the West Virginia, only a few feet away, he would probably not have survived.
But he did survive, and he served America honorably throughout World War II, through repeated hospitalizations for injuries incurred in the line of duty. On November 1, 1945, he received an honorable discharge, and he passed away many years later in 1998.
I learned much of this information from official military records, and I learned something more, too: Mr. Roney was eligible for seven medals that he had never been formally awarded.
As representatives of a Congressional office, we can request service medals on behalf of a late soldier's family. We contacted the National Personnel Records Center, who collected Roney's hard-earned medals: the Combat Action Ribbon, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, the American Defense Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
In a moving and long-overdue ceremony on July 10, Rep. Boyda formally presented the medals to two of Mr. Roney's surviving family members, Joycelyn and Earl A. Roney.
If you'd like to learn more about late members of your own family who served in World War II or another war, please feel encouraged to contact Rep. Boyda's Topeka office at (785) 234-8111. We'd be pleased to request your loved one's military records. Not every record contains as many details as Mr. Roney's, and some older records have been lost entirely, but we'll do everything we can to help uncover your family's story.
Congresswoman Nancy Boyda, left, presents seven medals to Joycelyn Roney and Earl Roney, survivors of late Pearl Harbor veteran Earl John Roney.