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October 22, 2011

Senior Focus: World War II vet to be honored

By Kathleen Gest, Local columnist ----

John J. Conroy will be honored at the annual Veterans Dinner Dance this year.

The dance is organized by the Grand Traverse County Senior Center Network and Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. It's scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Elks Club of Traverse City.

Conroy, of Kingsley, a veteran of World War II, never received his medals after serving in the U.S. Army. In May -- at age 93 -- he was given seven medals, more than 60 years after his service. The medals will be at the dinner dance. A representative from U.S. Rep. Dave Camp's office also is scheduled to attend.

In March 1941, Conroy, then 23, started his service at Fort Knox, Ky., as a mechanic.

"They handed me a box of tools and said, 'Go to work,'" Conroy chuckled.

After Fort Knox, he joined the 1st Armored Division (nicknamed "Old Ironsides"), the 13th Armored Regiment and Combat Command B, one of three combat commands.

His time in the United States Army would eventually take him to campaigns in North Africa and Italy and battles fought in Algeria, French Moroccan, Tunisian, Naples, Foggia, Rome, Arno, North Apennines and Po Valley.

Conroy served on a reconnaissance tank in North Africa, often sent out to draw fire from the enemy.

"I was in the point tank, usually in front of the rest of the platoon tanks and, if I got shot at, they could move out or take cover," Conroy said. "Reconnaissance was pretty dangerous, because you never knew what you were running into."

He said the Germans never knew how many troops were in North Africa. "We covered so much ground between each conflict or skirmish, they thought they were fighting a larger number .... We would hit them one place one day and then drive all night to fight another place the next day."

In February 1943, Conroy was helping defend a Tunisian pass, including a classic German blitzkrieg with a false retreat. "When (the Germans) drove us back through the Kasserine Pass, I was the last tank out," Conroy said. "When we got regrouped and went back in, I was the first tank back through."

The battle of Kasserine Pass cost the Germans 2,000 troops and the Allies about 10,000, of which 6,500 were Americans.

Conroy and his combat command moved on to the Italian mainland where, month after month, they sent out patrols, raided enemy lines and defended the front lines, until German forces surrendered in May 1945. The Italian campaign was the deadliest in western Europe, with more than 600,000 Allied and Axis troops killed.

Conroy and other veterans are also being honored at The Rock in Kingsley at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9. The speaker will be Commander Scott Langum, of the United States Coast Guard. There's no admission for Kingsley-area veterans; seniors pay $2 and all others $5. Call 922-4911 by noon Nov. 7 to make a reservation.

Tickets for the Veterans Day Dinner Dance are $6 per veteran and $13 per guest. They're available at the Senior Center Network Business Office, 801 E. Front St. For more information call 922-4911 or email at ehovie@tcseniorcenter.com.

Kathleen Bellaw Gest is a local freelance writer. For more about the Traverse City Senior Center, go to www.tcseniorcenter.com.

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