Virgil Cooper McVay was born on May 6, 1922, on a farm in Clay Township, near Tracy, Iowa, the second son of Alfred Martin and Rosa Lois Maddy McVay. He was baptized on February 22, 1925, at the age of 2 3/4. The family moved into Tracy and lived there from 1925 until 1937. Virgil attended Tracy School until the end of the first semester of 7th grade.

The four McVays, Mart, Lois, Audrey, and Virgil, moved to the Luther, Iowa, area, first to one farm on January 9, 1937, then to another in 1938. The second farm was southeast of Luther on the current 280th Street; then listed as Route 1, Madrid, Iowa. They rented.

Virgil was a member of the Luther Methodist Church. He was active in the church youth group, school athletic program (basketball and baseball in 11th and 12th grades), high school glee club in 11th grade, and the 4-H Club of Boone.

He enlisted in Boone, on June 3, 1940, with the Iowa Army National Guard. (The Army National Guard was founded on December 13, 1636.) He finished high school in 3 1/2 years, but graduated with his Luther High School Class of 1941. He entered active service February 10, 1941, with the artillery and left for Camp Claiborne on February 26, 1941. His Serial Number was 20 716 953.

He trained at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, and was assigned to the 34th Division, Battery E, 185th Field Artillery. He volunteered for duty overseas, and was transferred to Battery C, 151st Field Artillery, so he would be with the first group to go over. Oral notes from Virgil's older brother, Audrey, state: "Virgil left Boone with the National Guard, C Battery, 185th Field Artillery, for Camp Claiborne. He transferred at Ft. Dix, New Jersey, to the 151st Field Artillery, because he wanted to be with the first outfit to go overseas after Pearl Harbor."

On January 15, 1942, his battery sailed from New York and arrived in the European Theater on January 26, 1942, for further training in Ireland. Virgil visited with relatives of his Maddy ancestors, who had come from England. The battery left Europe on December 22, 1942.

The "African-Middle Eastern Theater" also included southern Europe, including Italy. Virgil arrived in Africa on January 3, 1943. He served in Northern Africa (Tunis, February - July, 1943), then in Italy. Major battles in Italy included Salerno (September, 1943), Cassino (January - February, 1944) and Anzio (March - May 1944), with other areas between.

Virgil was a truck driver, then in Communications: a "lineman" (telephone/telegraph operator/repairman) near the front lines. He was in the mud, wet and cold for weeks, without shelter. His final rank was Corporal. He was in the service 4 years, 5 months, and 26 days; overseas for 31 months, and in combat for 11 months.

As of June 12, 1944, Virgil was listed as medically unfit for duty. He left the African-Middle Eastern Theater on August 17, 1944. On September 1, 1944, he returned to the United States and was assigned to Winter General Army Hospital in Topeka, Kansas, from where he received a Medical/Honorable Discharge on October 28, 1944.

On his October 31, 1944, Draft Registration Card, he is described as 5' 9", 163 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair, a light complexion, and with a scar on the 3rd finger of his left hand.

Virgil met Jo Ann Pope at the V.F.W. (Veterans of Foreign Wars) in Boone, Iowa, where her father was Quartermaster (bookkeeper).

Virgil married Jo Ann at age 24 on June 3, 1946, at the Termino Avenue Methodist Church, 317 Termino Ave., Long Beach, Los Angeles County, California. The officiating minister was Rev. William C. Hodgson (Memorial #85425944). Witnesses were Ora Joseph Roberts (Memorial #243184931), the half-brother of Virgil's maternal grandmother, and his wife, Maggie (Memorial #243185111), who lived at 363A Termino Ave., Long Beach. A small family reception was held at their home.

At the time of his death, Virgil and Jo Ann were living at 6110 Northside Dr. in the Whittier section of East Los Angeles.

Virgil Cooper McVay passed away on Monday, September 22, 1947, at 1:30 p.m., (3 weeks before their daughter, Angela, was born) in the Office of the Dean, 6023 E. 6th St., on the campus of East Los Angeles Junior College, where he was a third-year student in electrical engineering. He died at age 25 years, 4 months, 16 days, of a heart attack, resulting from rheumatic fever, contracted while serving in the Army in World War II.

His death certificate stated the cause of death as: Cardiac failure due to coronary thrombosis (blockage of the coronary artery by a blood clot) due to mitral stenosis (narrowing of the mitral valve, as by scarring from rheumatic fever) and regurgitation (blood flowing back through the mitral valve when the ventricle contracts). The doctor who signed the death certificate was Dr. L. Paul Resnick, DO. Virgil's death was termed "service-connected" by the Veterans Administration and by the State of Iowa Service Compensation Board.

Services in Los Angeles were at the Thomas G. Bosque Mortuary, 3827 Whittier Blvd., Los Angeles, by Rev. William Newman on Wednesday, September 24 at 2 p.m., since Jo Ann was not able to travel back to Iowa. Virgil's body was shipped to Sundberg Mortuary, Madrid, Iowa. On September 28, funeral services were held at the Luther Methodist Church. Rev. J. Neal Clemmer, pastor, officiated; assisted by former pastor, Rev. Merrill D. Summerbell of Anita, Iowa; and Rev. Lacey Thompson of Moulton, Iowa; a special friend of the family. Gravesite Military Honors followed by the V.F.W. of Boone.

Mementos from his childhood and Army service were donated to the Marion County Historical Society and the Boone County Historical Society by his daughter.

Information from family records, from Virgil's brother, Audrey;

and from the Veterans Administration military records. Edited and submitted by daughter Angela, Member #48520699.