Lt. Roy Arthur Fuller was born in Maywood, Illinois, on July 13, 1916, to Clarence W. Fuller and Lucia M. Struckmeyer-Fuller, and had two sisters and two brothers. One was his twin brother, Ray. The family resided at 409 South Seventh Avenue in Maywood and Roy graduated from Emerson School. Proviso Township High School in 1934, and Purdue University in 1938. During his time at Purdue, he joined the Naval Reserve and was commissioned an Ensign. His serial number was 106132
After graduating from Purdue, he moved to Washington DC, where he worked for R. P. Fleming a roofing contractor. He registered with Selective Service on October 16, 1940, when the draft act became law and named his mother as his contact person. He was called to federal service on May 15, 1941, as an aviation cadet. Information on his training is skimpy, but it is known, in no particular order, he trained at Anacostia Naval Air Station, Washington DC, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Florida, Naval Air Statin, Miami, Florida, and Naval Air Station, Corpus Christi, where it appears he qualified as a pilot. He also married Constance Jane Baker on February 12, 1942, and became the father of a son, Roy A. Fuller Jr. who was born on October 5, 1942, and appears to have died on September 30, 1961, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
He was sent overseas and became a member of the crew of the USS Shangri-la as a pilot of a F4U-1D otherwise known as a Corsair fighter-bomber. The ship was brand new having been commission on December 15, 1944. During his time on the carrier, he flew air strikes against Japanese positions in the islands of Okino Daito Jima, on April 25, 1945. The raids destroyed radar stations and radio installations. He also took part in the Battle of Okinawa and provided air support to the 10th Army on the island. Next the carrier’s planes attacked Kyushu in the Japanese Home Islands on June 2nd.
It was during the attack on Kyushu on June 2, 1945, that Roy, as a member Fighter Squadron 85, was reported missing after being involved in an ariel engagement. Initially, it was believed that his plane, a Corsair, went down on the Island of Kyushu. He was reported Missing in Action and his wife was sent a telegram
After the war, Japanese military documents did not show any American pilots being captured or held prisoners. The same documents did not indicate that any captured pilots had been executed. It was concluded that Roy’s plane did not crash on Kyushu but went down somewhere between the Kagoshima Bay and the USS Shangri-la.
MRS ELENORA FULLER
2719 TENANCE ROAD SE APT B310
WASHINGTON DC
THE NAVY DEPARTMENT DEEPLY REGRETS TO INFORM YOU THAT YOUR HUSBAND LT ROY A FULLER USNR IS MISSING FOLLOWING ACTION IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS DUTY AND IN THE SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY. THE DEPARTMENT APPRECIATES YOUR GREAT ANXIETY AND WILL FURNISH YOU FURTHER INFORMATION PROMPTLY
On June 3, 1946, the War Department made a Finding of Death in the Case of Lt.(jg) Roy A. Fuller. Since he was Missing in Action, his name was placed on the Honolulu Courts of the Missing in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.
