EDITOR'S NOTES: Some stories are harder to tell than others  

Early in my journalism career, I was assigned the job of obituary editor of a large newspaper out West. In that role I was directed to “punch up” some of the more bland obituaries and give readers better insight into the dearly departed.

While on such a mission, I came upon an extra bland obituary that contained almost no detail other than the individual was the recipient of a Bronze Star while serving in World War II.

I had to know more about Mr. Joy Ayres.

My queries often took me to local cemeteries to glean any information that may provide details on headstones. Often you can find additional names, dates, sometimes poetry, so I drove out to a small but meticulously groomed ceremony and began wandering among the “Ayres family gravesites.

Across the cemetery from Mr. Ayres grandparent’s marker, two small American flags had been pushed into the dirt next to a headstone. I had found Mr. Ayres.

A treble clef and a rose were carved into the granite next to his name and the date of his death — Independence Day, 2008.

Many people attending the Aug. 2 funeral service expected little more than a simple ceremony for a simple man who moved away from home to serve in World War II.

But after “Taps” was played and the flag that draped the casket was given to Waldtraut “Val” Ayres, his wife of 48 years, word began to spread about the man who served his country in three wars.

Joy, known by most people as a gentle man who loved to grow roses and listen to fine music, was born in a small Idaho town in 1914. He retired from service in 1970 at the age 56, serving for 24 years with the Army.

He worked as a medic and later in the finance corps.

Among the ribbons he wore on his uniform was a red ribbon with a single blue stripe, signifying he was decorated by the Army with a Bronze Star for heroic or meritorious action in conflict.

An oak leaf cluster he wore with his medal showed that it was the second time during his service in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam that he had been decorated with the honor.

An Army Commendation Medal, again with an oak leaf cluster, shows his sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Val told me that besides his medals and some handwritten journals, she had only limited information about his service.

“He never talked about it,” Val said.

The two met and married soon after the end of the Korean War while Joy was stationed in Berlin.

Another assignment took the couple back to America for a short time, but war soon took him to the other side of the world again.

Joy served in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive in 1968 when the North Vietnamese army made a massive surge in an attempt to crush the South Vietnamese army and its allies.

A simple journal entry in his personal papers reads, “3 Jan. ‘68 “The Year of TET” - 4 Feb. ‘69, U.S. Army, Pacific (Vietnam).”

More medals — including the Vietnam Gallantry Cross given by South Vietnam to soldiers honoring deeds of valor in battle — recognize his service there.

Joy came home from war for the last time in January 1970 and went to work for a library district in Olympia, Wash.

His focus turned to Val, who sang opera as a young woman before the war destroyed Berlin.

“He loved good music. And we attended the opera often,” said Val. She chuckled and then said, “I wouldn’t have married him if he didn’t.”

Val also said Joy loved to play the piano. “It was his second hobby,” she said.

The two started growing roses and became well known for their work with the Centennial Rose Garden in downtown Olympia, Washington.

Joy and his wife raised the money for the garden, which today contains a collection of about 100 varieties of roses.

Although his 93 years took him around the world many times, Joy was returned home to be buried among the dozens of family members representing six generations of Ayres in a tiny Idaho cemetery.

David Kennard is the interim editor of The Bladen Journal and executive editor of The Robesonian in Robeson County. Contact him by email at dkennard@robesonian.com.