Thank you for your service, Robert E. Lea!
Shell Knob veteran charter member of VFW Post 2203
Retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, Robert E. Lea - shown at left with his daughter, Beverly Boyers - can’t believe it’s been 53 years since he saw active U.S. military service.
A resident of Shell Knob, Lea was instrumental in the formation of VFW Post 2203, 34 years ago. Photo by Sheila Harris. |
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Master Chief Petty Officer, Robert E. Lea (above right, at center), is shown being “piped over the side” by members of the Company Commander School at his retirement from active service in the U.S. Navy in March of 1968.
November 10, 2021
Sheila Harris
From being the youngest of 48 charter members of Shell Knob’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2203 in Shell Knob 34 years ago, at age 92, Robert E. Lea, of Shell Knob, now finds himself the oldest and the only remaining active charter member of the post.
With a military career that has spanned the globe, Lea finds it difficult to believe that he’s been retired from active service for 53 years, not counting the seven additional years he served in the reserves.
“I don’t consider myself a WWII vet,” Lea said, “although, technically, some people might say I am, since a peace treaty wasn’t signed until after I joined the Navy in September of 1946. Fighting ceased a year earlier, though.”
Although Lea didn’t see action during World War II, he participated in the Inchon Invasion four years later aboard the U.S.S. Hector during the Korean War.
Lea left high school in Oakdale, California, after his sophomore year and, after working a few agricultural jobs, made his way to his grandmother’s farm in Carthage. From there, he and a friend hitchhiked to Joplin, determined to join the military.
“The Navy’s recruiting office was the first one we came to, so that’s the branch we joined,” Lea said.
Following a train ride from Joplin to Kansas City for physicals and another to San Diego, California, the boys were assigned to different companies for three months of recruit training. Graduation from boot camp marked the last time Lea ever saw his friend.
“From San Diego, I was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois, where I began engineering school,” Lea said. “I arrived in January to find knee-deep snow which stayed on the ground most of the winter, and it was colder than I could ever have imagined.”
Basic engineering school included the study of lots of math - which Lea hated - plus the study of hand-tools and internal combustion engines, including boilers, steam turbines and auxiliary machinery used in a ship’s engine room.
Lea’s 23 years of active duty with the Navy involved service on four different ships and tours of duty in which he served in various positions, including recruitment officer, company commander, and fleet commander.
When asked, from the perspective of his 92nd year if he would serve in the military all over again, Lea said, “The Navy was good to me. They gave me a home, an education and a career when I didn’t have one.”
Lea admits, though, that military service is hard on family life because of the time spent away from home. His first marriage, he says, was a casualty.
After Lea’s retirement from active duty in March of 1968, he made his way to Barry County with his second wife, Lorine, where he tried his hand at farming, an experience he now laughs about.
A more successful endeavor, he believes, is the part he has played in helping establishing Shell Knob’s VFW Post 2203.
Lea’s daughter, Beverly Boyer, who recently moved to Shell Knob from California, says the 130 post members and 50 auxiliary members provide many services to veterans.
“We raise most of our money with the Sunday afternoon bingo games we host,” Lea said.
The games are held every Sunday, from 1 - 4 p.m., and are open to the public. According to Lea, admission is free, but bingo players pay for the cards they use. Post 2203 is located at 24204 State Highway 39 in Shell Knob.
Sheila Harris
From being the youngest of 48 charter members of Shell Knob’s Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2203 in Shell Knob 34 years ago, at age 92, Robert E. Lea, of Shell Knob, now finds himself the oldest and the only remaining active charter member of the post.
With a military career that has spanned the globe, Lea finds it difficult to believe that he’s been retired from active service for 53 years, not counting the seven additional years he served in the reserves.
“I don’t consider myself a WWII vet,” Lea said, “although, technically, some people might say I am, since a peace treaty wasn’t signed until after I joined the Navy in September of 1946. Fighting ceased a year earlier, though.”
Although Lea didn’t see action during World War II, he participated in the Inchon Invasion four years later aboard the U.S.S. Hector during the Korean War.
Lea left high school in Oakdale, California, after his sophomore year and, after working a few agricultural jobs, made his way to his grandmother’s farm in Carthage. From there, he and a friend hitchhiked to Joplin, determined to join the military.
“The Navy’s recruiting office was the first one we came to, so that’s the branch we joined,” Lea said.
Following a train ride from Joplin to Kansas City for physicals and another to San Diego, California, the boys were assigned to different companies for three months of recruit training. Graduation from boot camp marked the last time Lea ever saw his friend.
“From San Diego, I was sent to Great Lakes, Illinois, where I began engineering school,” Lea said. “I arrived in January to find knee-deep snow which stayed on the ground most of the winter, and it was colder than I could ever have imagined.”
Basic engineering school included the study of lots of math - which Lea hated - plus the study of hand-tools and internal combustion engines, including boilers, steam turbines and auxiliary machinery used in a ship’s engine room.
Lea’s 23 years of active duty with the Navy involved service on four different ships and tours of duty in which he served in various positions, including recruitment officer, company commander, and fleet commander.
When asked, from the perspective of his 92nd year if he would serve in the military all over again, Lea said, “The Navy was good to me. They gave me a home, an education and a career when I didn’t have one.”
Lea admits, though, that military service is hard on family life because of the time spent away from home. His first marriage, he says, was a casualty.
After Lea’s retirement from active duty in March of 1968, he made his way to Barry County with his second wife, Lorine, where he tried his hand at farming, an experience he now laughs about.
A more successful endeavor, he believes, is the part he has played in helping establishing Shell Knob’s VFW Post 2203.
Lea’s daughter, Beverly Boyer, who recently moved to Shell Knob from California, says the 130 post members and 50 auxiliary members provide many services to veterans.
“We raise most of our money with the Sunday afternoon bingo games we host,” Lea said.
The games are held every Sunday, from 1 - 4 p.m., and are open to the public. According to Lea, admission is free, but bingo players pay for the cards they use. Post 2203 is located at 24204 State Highway 39 in Shell Knob.
At left (in dark shirt) and in inset, Master Chief Petty Officer, Robert E. Lea, of Shell Knob, served many years as a recruit instructor for the U.S. Naval Training Center.
Master Chief Petty Officer Robert E. Lea, of Shell Knob, was aboard the U.S.S. Hector AR7 (shown docked at Pearl Harbor, at left) during the Inchon Invasion during the Korean War.
