A delayed honor
By ANDREA FURLONG
Sixty-four years after being injured in combat, North English resident J.D. Roller, 83, has been honored with the Purple Heart medal.
Roller’s daughter Sharon Kolosik, North English, said the family’s discovery that Roller had possibly been overlooked for the medal came one year ago. Kolosik said she was digging through a chest of family items when she accidentally came across a letter sent by a Marine Corps captain to Roller’s mother during World War II. The letter notified Roller’s immediate family that he had been injured while fighting at Iwo Jima March 3, 1945.
Sharon’s husband, Gary, asked his father-in-law out of curiosity whether he’d ever received a Purple Heart, a distinguished military medal only awarded to soldiers who were wounded or killed in combat. When the answer came back “no,” the couple decided there would be no harm in looking into the former chiropracter's eligibility for the military’s oldest service medal.
After contacting the office of Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and submitting the requested paperwork last fall, the Kolosiks had nothing to do but wait. Six months later they received their answer.
“When I went to go get the mail (Friday, April 24) and I saw that envelope and felt it and saw it was from Quantico, Va., the Marine Corps headquarters, I knew what it was,” Gary said.
In just five days, the Kolosiks contacted area veterans, family and friends and arranged a ceremony in the English Valley Care Center, North English, where Roller has been temporarily staying while recovering from a surgery.
An audience of more than 50 people was present April 29, including members of the North English American Legion post; community members; veterans from Victor, South English, North English and Williamsburg; and care center residents.
Gary introduced the Purple Heart with a brief history on the medal and then the moment came for Sharon and her sister, Elaine Kanter, Cedar Falls, to pin the medal on their father.
“It was very moving,” Sharon said.
Roller’s wife, Belle, agreed.
“It was very touching that his grandsons and their wives got to see this,” she said, noting there were four generations of the Roller family present at the ceremony.
Roller’s reaction was a little bit more difficult to gauge. Family had notified him the night before of his award and the ceremony that was being planned, but they waited until the next day to show him the actual medal.
“I think he was actually a little overwhelmed. He’s had kind of a disbelief,” Sharon said, noting that her father asked the family to reread the certificate accompanying the medal—possibly so the words could really sink in.
A QUIET HERO
Little is known about Roller’s time in the war and even less is known about how he sustained the injuries at Iwo Jima that led to his Purple Heart. His family and wife know that he joined the Marines at 18, was wounded by shrapnel at Iwo Jima at 19 and was discharged as a corporeal at 21 and that is nearly it.
“We know very little about what really happened,” Sharon said.
His wife, Belle, agreed.
“He hardly ever talks about it—hardly ever did,” she said.
Roller’s Alzheimer’s, diagnosed three years ago, leaves little hope of securing the stories now, considering the family has noticed irregularities emerging in the few war-time stories they were familiar with.
Yet, somehow, Roller’s war-time stories continue to surface, whether from a Marine captain’s letter or a relative.
“A cousin of his was telling my sister a few years ago J.D. was a hero. None of us had ever heard that. We didn’t know what that meant. She went on to explain that he went out with his squad and something happened and he was the only one left. And it happened again, so he joined another squad, and then it happened again,” Sharon said.
When Sharon asked her father to elaborate on the story, his reply was five simple words: “I don’t know, I just lived.”
UNSOLVED MYSTERY
The story of how Roller was overlooked for the Purple Heart medal is very much like the story of the injury the medal recognizes – a mystery. The Kolosiks said they have no hard feelings over his wait for the medal, they’re just glad he received it while he was still in good health.
“There were probably tons of people overlooked. You read about it in the paper: That a lot of them don’t get it until they’re gone,” Gary said.
Added Sharon, “I didn’t want that to happen to him,” she said.
PURPLE HEART
The Purple Heart was created by George Washington in 1732 as the Badge of Military Merit, and is the nation’s oldest military medal. Only soldiers who were wounded or killed in combat may receive the medal. The current design has not changed since its redesign in 1932. For more information on the medal, please visit http://www.purpleheart.org
UPDATED May 9, 2009 2:00 PM