Roland "Rolly" Mellon's Service in WWII

Dad was still in high school on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941. He dropped out of high school on December 8th and enlisted in the Marine Corps the same day. But he failed the physical exam. There was nothing wrong with him; to his final days he was certain a clerical error kept him out of the Marine Corps. That left him classified as 4F, so he could have avoided service completely if he had wanted to.

Sometime in late '42 or early '43 a buddy of his said," Let's go join the Army."

Dad said, "They won't take me; I tried." But he went anyway, took the same physical and passed and so was in the Army Air Corps.

I'm not certain of where he took his basic training. I believe it was near Minneapolis. This is what happened to him there. Many rifle ranges have targets on a wooden frame that slide up and down behind an earthen berm. But Dad's camp wasn't that modern. Instead, there was a rope about the length of a football field with hundreds of targets hanging from the rope.

There were company after company, or thousands or more recruits, waiting for their turn at the range. Dad held his rifle, loaded one round in it that an instructor handed him, and fired. Unfortunately, he missed the entire target but hit the rope; 100 yards of targets fell to the ground. No more rifle range for that day!

Later that day a messenger brought Dad a message to report to a Captain. Anyone who has been in basic training or boot camp knows you never see an officer unless it's on a parade ground. Dad was sure he was going to be thrown out of the army for being the worst soldier in it.

The Captain explained the whole current history of Germany and the Nazis and what was going on in Europe. Dad kept saying, "Yes Sir," ... "Yes Sir," over and over.

Finally the Captain said, "So you see, Private, why it is important that we train as many men as fast as possible."

Dad said, "Yes Sir."

Then the Captain said, "Good. Then I would appreciate it, as a personal favor, if you would not show off anymore."

Dad said, "Oh, I won't!"

He's lucky they didn't turn him into a sniper.

Dad and Mom met on a blind date a few weeks before he was transferred to an air base in Pampa, Texas, in 1944, where he attended a tire school. Mom went with him and they were married in Texas.

Later he was sent to an air base in Brazil. There, planes en route from Europe to the Pacific received whatever maintenance or repairs were needed. (The Army didn't want the crews stopping off in the U.S.; they were afraid there would be too many desertions by men who thought fighting the Germans was enough and that they didn't need to go fight the Japanese, also.) Dad supervised civilian employees who repaired or replaced aircraft tires, as needed.

Dad, Corporal Roland Mellon, was discharged in February 1946.

Written by son Tom Mellon
Balboa Island, CA

Photos courtesy of Dan Mellon
Marcella & Rolly married in 1944, left; 50th wedding anniversary, 1994, right.


Photo courtesy of Dan Mellon
Corporal Roland Mellon flanked by both sets of grandparents; from left: Alonzo & Angie Mellon, Rolly, Emma & Claude Williamson (Daisy Mellon's parents).

Note by Gert Dake Pettit: Rolly and Marcella had three children: Tom (who was born four months before his dad's discharge), Dan and Colleen. Rolly was a first cousin of the Dake kids -- his dad, Everett Mellon, was our mom's brother. Alonzo Mellon was our mom's father.

On June 27 I enjoyed a trip to my old stamping grounds. I got an early start getting to the North Dakota border at 7:30 a.m.

First stop was Great Bend, a home town of my mother's parents. It has been a while since I last visited there and noticed lots of changes. I visited the graves of my Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts. Also many old friends I got to know over the years who are buried there.

Next to Mooreton, a town where we used to buy our IHC machinery from Feneis Imp. Co. George Feneis was a very fine mechanic and also known for his honesty and welding.

I drove north and angled toward my old farm in Ibsen. I stopped briefly to talk to the owner and looked around to see some buildings that were still there as they were 55 years ago.

Next to Dwight, the town I was born in, in 1927. I got my formal education there and graduated third highest in my class of 1940! I guess I should tell you there were three in that class!

In Dwight I stopped to see the graves of my Father's side and lot of my other friends in the cemetery. I visited briefly with Jim Score, a friend of 60 years.

Then on to Wahpeton where I had dinner with my two sisters; then we checked over the construction on Dwight and Janie's new home that is under construction. I was glad to point out an error and bring it to their attention regarding a poorly designed bathroom tub fitting.

Visited Donny Score at a Wahpeton Nursing home.

Stopped at Cousin Delwood Berndt's and visited with Del and Shirley for an hour or so.

At Fergus Falls I was to visit an old school chum in a nursing home, only to find out he was discharged earlier in the day.

I drove home to Alexandria via Underwood and Battle Lake, a route I drove many times back in the mid '50s, and was surprised to see the many changes since I last saw it.

I enjoyed the day and a thought come to me... I knew more friends in the cemetery then I know in Wahpeton. I must be getting old!

Just had to send off a note on this week's Bulletin. As always, it was fun, interesting, and entertaining. Thanks to Donna Johnson for writing up our trip to Florida. We packed a lot of non-traditional sight seeing things into those too few days in Florida. Thanks to Shari for sharing her home and time with us. Donna did a great job with remembering and including details I didn't know. Excellent reporter!

Also have to comment on the Anderson sibling photos, Then and Now. Even though 60 years have passed since the family photo was taken, I was impressed with how easily you could recognize each of the family. I know Don best, so he was easy to pick out (looks a lot like his dad, don't you think?), but the girls still are still easy to recognize, then and now. Thanks for providing the comparison.

The whole issue was a pleasure to read (as always). You have such talented contributors providing stories and/or photos. Thanks for all your hard work. The Bulletin always brightens my day!

Donna Richards
Eden Prairie, MN

Congratulations to Rich on his new job!

I must say I had very mixed emotions hearing about them moving so far away! But, it sounds like a true adventure, as I know living in other states was for me when I was young. A person does learn a lot in the process, so it's a real geography/ history/ life lesson for the whole family. And now, thanks to cell phone rates and e-mail, there is no reason we still can't stay in close touch, so I console myself with those facts. :-)

Donna Anderson Johnson
Ashby, MN

On Jun 24, 2006, at 9:06 a.m....

OH NOOOOOOO, a storm is rolling in. Thundering. Very dark. I MUST turn off the computer so I have it to get The Bulletin instead of stubbornly leaving it on and then wishing I hadn't.

But I will be right here ready to turn it on as soon as I dare.