James is buried at Evergreen Memorial Gardens located at Paris, Bourbon, Kentucky, USA. He was a WWII veteran having served as a Light Mortar Crewman.

SUMMARY OF MILITARY OCCUPATIONS

!LIGHT MORTAR CREWMAN: Served with the 395th Inf Regiment in Germany, Belgium, France, England and Holland for 12 months. Assisted in emplacing, aiming and firing a 50 mm mortar. Performed all duties connected with firing the mortar to place explosive shells on enemy installations. Cared for ammunition, and set fuzes for firing.

MILITARY INFORMATION

!DATE OF INDUCTION: 12 Jun 1944 PLACE: Ft. Thomas, KY

Selective Service Board NO.: 41 County and State: Fayette, KY

MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY AND NO.: Light Mortar Crewman 607

MILITARY QUALIFICATION: Combat Infantryman Badge

BATTLES & CAMPAIGNS: Ardennes - Rhineland - Central Europe

DECORATIONS AND CITATIONS: Good Conduct Medal - European/African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with 3 Bronze Stars - World War II Victory Medal

WOUNDS: None

TOTAL LENGTH OF SERVICE: Continental Service= 6 mo. 19 days Foreign Service: 1 yr 13 days

HIGHEST GRADE HELD: Private First Class

World War II, HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Reorganized as the 99th Infantry Division in April 1942, the division went to Camp Van Dorn, Miss., in November 1942 for combat training. Moving overseas on troop ships, the 99th arrived in England on October 10, 1944, then proceeded to Aubel, Belgium. Its soldiers first saw action on November 9, 1944, while defending the Rhur River northern sector. The thinly dispersed 99th encountered heavier enemy resistance while probing along their 22 mile sector of the Siegfried Line in mid-December, 1944.

Three days later, at the onset of what would become known as the Battle of the Bulge, the 99th repelled the fierce Von Runstedt Attack. Although cut in two and partially surrounded, the stubborn 99th soldiers defended the crucial Elsenborn Ridge on the north shoulder of the Bulge against repeated, violent Germany attacks.

Now battle-seasoned, the 99th attacked toward the Monschau Forest. In March 1945, they crossed the Erft Canal to become the first infantry division to cross the famed Bridge at Remagen. After taking Gissen, it assaulted the final remnants of Nazi resistance in the Rhur Pocket.

With the fall of Iserlohn, the pocket collapsed, and the 99th continued forward, crossing both the Aithmuhl and Danube rivers before halting in Giessenhausen on VE Day. With the war in Europe over, the 99th conducted occupational duties until returning to America and inactivation on September 27, 1945.

OBITUARY:

Lexington Herald

James C. "Pete" Roe, 83, 816 High Street, Paris, husband of Nettie Lea Simon Roe, died Monday, March 26, 2001, after an extended illness.

A native of Bourbon County, he was born June 16, 1917 to the late Martha Roe Gibson. He was a retired crane operator for Avon(Army Depot) and a former employee of the Davis Funeral Home; McDaniel's Furniture, Met Life Insurance and a school bus driver of the Paris City Schools. Mr Roe was a US Army Veteran serving in World War II, who fought for his country in Belgium and Germany during the "Battle of the Bulge", he served with the US Army, 395th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. He was a member of the American Legion Post and the First Baptist Church.

Survivors in addition to his wife include his children, Betty Coplan, Springerville, Az.; Phyllis Brockman, London, Kentucky; Vicki Lanter and Kyle Roe, both of Paris, Kentucky, 16 Grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Cheryl Roe Young.

Services were held Thursday, March 29, 2001 at the Lusk-McFarland Funeral Home by Rev. Terry Lester, with interment in the Evergreen Memory Gardens.

Casket bearers were Jeff Vickers, Donnie Crump, Russell Lanter, Tom Sunley, Joe Gregory and Charles Coplan.

James Roe & Nettie Simon Family