Two WWII Purple Hearts Laid to Rest this Week

*Soldiers from Ft. Leavenworth carry the casket draped in honors for Dr. Arthur Roos. Photo by Courtney S. Cole*

This week the Excelsior Springs area laid to rest two veterans of World War II that both earned Purple Hearts for their courageous time spent serving our country. Dr. Arthur “Art” Roos and Roy Alburn Cheek’s lives were both recognized with military honors and a 21 Gun Salute with flag dedication ceremonies.

From his obituary, Dr. Arthur K. Roos was called in July of 1943 to serve his country in World War II at the age of seventeen. Art served in the Army in the 1106th Division, 422nd Regiment, Cannon Company as a Prime Mover Driver in the European Theater for no more than two months before being captured as a prisoner of war in the Battle of the Bulge along the Western Front in the Ardennes region on December 12th of 1944. He was interned at the Stalag IX-B prison camp in Bad Orb, Germany for three and a half months before being liberated on April 2nd of 1945.

During Art’s funeral, First United Methodist Church of Excelsior Springs Pastor Laura Blevins told more about his time as a prisoner of war. The guards trusted him among the prisoners to cut and give bread to fellow prisoners. Art would hand out the bread to his fellow soldiers and then eat the crumbs for himself.

After the war, Art married Doris Davis, having written to each other throughout the time of the war. And after graduating from the Northern Illinois College of Optometry, Dr. Roos bought an optometry practice in Excelsior Springs. It was here that he served the community for 46 years.

Roy Alburn Cheek, Lawson, had a similar story. After graduating from Lawson High School in 1941, Roy enlisted in the Army Air Corp and served in WWII as a ball turret gunner on a B-17. He and his crew were shot down over Holland on their 14th mission and Roy was taken into the Dutch underground where he remained missing in action for 11 months. When he returned from the war he married Shirley Davis and had two daughters Barbara Lanning and Sherry O’Dell. Shirley and Roy would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this year. Roy continued to serve the country by joining the National Guard and was a proud member of the Lawson VFW.

*Shirley Cheek and daughters are presented with a flag in Roy’s honor. Photo by granddaughter, Lani O’Dell*

Roy participated in Patriot Features, an initiative meant to capture soldiers from World War II’s stories in short documentaries. Here’s Roy’s amazing story: