The Blind History Lady Presents; Blinded WWII Vets, Meet Monroe Fox

By Peggy Chong

Monroe Fox lost his eyesight when his ship was hit the night before D-Day. His life was changed forever. Learn how Monroe dealt with his rehabilitation, his transition back to civilian life and the building of his future in Chama, New Mexico. As with so many returning vets, WWII drastically changed the course of his life. Although he never wanted others to know, he struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress from his service. Yet, The blind man went on to become the only blind attorney in Chama for decades, raised his children and became a community leader. You will enjoy reading how he faught his internal struggles and external barriers to become the man he and others could respect and be proud of.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peggy Chong
• Release date: Dec 19, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370247325

Peggy Chong

Peggy Chong is a long-time researcher and Historical author of many articles on the blind in the United States. She has written for publications that include The Braille Monitor, Dialogue Magazine, Future Reflections, The Minnesota Bulletin and the Iowa History Journal. In her growing series, The Blind Lady Presents, she introduces to sighted and blind alike, the many average blind persons in the United States who had to overcome not-so-average barriers to lead a normal life, support their families and succeed. She recounts all they had to do to become chemists, newspaper editors, plumbers, barbers, piano tuners, boat builders, teachers, lawyers, politicians and so much more.

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The Blind History Lady Presents;

Blinded WWII Vets--Meet Monroe Fox

By Peggy Chong

Distributed by Smashwords

Copyright 2016

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Early Years

The War

The Road Back

First Trip Home

Finishing Rehabilitation Training

Back To Real Life

Hitting Stride

His Seeing Eye Dogs

The Last Years

End Notes

Introduction

Through my research, I have encountered many blinded vets from our nation's wars and military conflicts. I hope over the next many years to introduce more of them to you, my readers. Each has a unique story to tell as does the subject of this book, Monroe Fox.

Fox left us with his personal record of the thought process and trials, set-backs and successes as he transitioned from the blind to the sighted world. Other records lead us through his life to demonstrate that he took his successes, failures and lessons to heart.

Today, we hear much about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder(PTSD) and how it is effecting today so many of our military soldiers, returning from the many conflicts overseas. Monroe most certainly experienced PTSD up until his death. There is no evidence that, after leaving the military hospitals, he ever sought or was treated for PTSD. Evidence of his emotional struggles relating to his military service manifested itself through his heavy smoking and his consumption of alcohol. In his day, men such as Monroe who were able to function in society, did not seek treatment or even admit they had flashbacks, hyper-vigilance, tension and a myriad of other symptoms of PTSD. It would seem that he felt a need to prove to himself and to his family and community that he was a whole man.

Later, his son Skip who followed in his father's footsteps, also served his country, returning home with PTSD as well. Unfortunately, Skip was not able to manage his stress as his father had. He too drank. Although Skip did receive medical attention for his PTSD, sadly Skip took his life several years after his father passed away.

Presenting to you the story of Monroe Fox, I hope to honor all our men and women who served our country and gave so much of themselves, paying a cost that too often are hidden and forgotten by family and friends after the war is over.

My thanks also to Marsha Dyer for her assistance in editing this eBook.

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Early Years

Monroe Lewis Fox was born August 23, 1914, in Trinidad, Colorado, a small town in Las Animas County on the southern border of Colorado and northern New Mexico. He was the oldest son of farmers, Hattie Berthelda Monroe and Lewis Clark Fox. The family had one other son, Lloyd, four years younger than Monroe. The two boys grew up on a farm in a small, southern mining and railroad town in the state of Colorado where they learned to enjoy the outdoors and the rewards of hard work.

Each side of his family had long roots in this country. On the Monroe side, his great-grandfather George Monroe came over from England, settling first in South Carolina, then North Carolina, and finally settling in the state of Georgia where his descendants stayed to raise their families. George's wife was Elizabeth Young, born in Virginia in 1760.

On the Fox side, his two times great-grandfather came over from Germany. His family settled in the Maryland area for many years, then began moving further west to Illinois, Nebraska, then finally, Colorado.

Growing up in rural Colorado, meant enjoying the finer points of rural life. Monroe learned how to ride horseback, hike, and appreciate nature. Some of the chores he did as a child included milking the cows, tending to the chickens, mending fences, chopping wood, and all the chores necessary to run a family farm in the mountains.

During all of his childhood the family had several pets, including a collie dog that actually joined the Fox family before Monroe. When his favorite collie dog passed away when Monroe was ten, his attachment to the family dog caused him to cry and mourn the dog for a longer time than any other loss of pets or livestock. There were other dogs in the family, but this particular collie had won his heart.

Monroe attended and graduated from Walsenburg High in 1932. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Colorado at Boulder. He was there for two years, hoping to get a degree in pharmacy, taking part in many student activities. At the college, he joined the Mortar and Pestle Club. He even pledged to the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity on campus. Before obtaining his degree, he caught a wandering spirit.

He left college in 1934 to travel as a shoe salesman across the southwest, through New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas. Life was an exciting adventure for Monroe during this time. If it was daring or adventurous, then he would seek it out. At one point he took flying lessons, thinking of getting his license to become a pilot. He enjoyed reading all kinds of literature that included the latest novels such as Gone with the Wind.

Monroe met a very sweet and very young lady on July 4th named Shirleye Ruth Daggett, (yes, with two 'e's) the daughter of Art and Mattie Daggett, ranchers near a small mining and railroad town called Chama in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico. They soon fell in love and were married on Christmas in 1938. On Thanksgiving of 1939, the couple had a son, Arthur Lewis, named after her father and Monroe's father. Shirleye had been born January 3, 1921. She was a very young mother and bride. She too had a wandering spirit.

After marrying, the newlyweds set out for California to chase his dreams. They first settled in the bay area. To earn a living, Monroe took many sales positions or as a merchandiser in many retail shops and department stores like J. C. Penney. Life was good for the small family. Montgomery Ward offered training for young men who wanted to be more than just a salesman on the floor of their stores. Monroe took the training and worked his way up to head salesman for the Montgomery Ward store in Tulare, a community about half-way between Los Angeles and Sacramento.

For sport, he took up the game of golf, enjoying the outdoors. Their last home before Monroe entered into the military was at 505 I Street in Tulare.

On November 2, 1943, Monroe felt a strong need to enlist into the Navy—not so much because he was in favor of the war, but he felt that it was his duty to serve his country. Having a background in storekeeping he was given the position as Storekeeper Second Class right away. He was sent first for military training to Little Creek, Virginia. An opportunity was brought up to him, Monroe once said, during his training in Virginia, (but may have been a promise to entice him to join and brought up while enlisting in California), a new program for the Navy. It was the very first amphibious training school for what was to be called the Seabee's and set up in Little Creek. The new Seabee's was right up Fox's alley, as the work was adventurous and dangerous. Soon he was sent to Fort Pearce, Florida, for underwater demolition training at the joint Army/Navy base to partake in the vigorous training program.

After he enlisted, Shirleye took her son and went back to Chama and lived on her family's ranch for the duration of the war. She also took additional work as the manager of the hotel dining room in Chama. Living with family meant she had a babysitter when she took off for work. Many other men from Chama had left for the war, including her brother, so jobs for young women were plentiful. Working kept funds coming into the family and their minds off what was happening overseas. The Dagget's had much to be concerned about when listening to the war news each night.

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The War

Monroe passed all training criteria in Florida. He was physically fit, a strong swimmer, and in excellent health. He became a Seabee, an elite demolitions team begun in 1942 under the Naval Construction Forces (NCF). His Combat Demolition Unit was Unit 200 from Fort Pierce, Florida, during 1944. Some of the guys he trained with included Elwood E. Andrews, William H. McLaughlin, James E. Machette, Arthur D. Hettema, and Lee D. Miller.

Not only did they have training in explosives and teamwork, but they were trained to be strong, long-distant swimmers as well. They