Visiting home: Pfc Roe Thompson, right, was pictured on July 4, 1944, before he left for the Pacific theater of war.
Recalling sacrifice: Teresa Carpenter points to Roe Thompson’s name on the monument honoring soldiers who were killed in the Battle of Okinawa.
Bethany, MO: A monument on the Pacific island of Okinawa honors Hatfield’s Roe Thompson who was killed almost 79 years ago to this date by machine gun fire while fighting entrenched Japanese soldiers in one of the costliest battles during World War II in terms of lives lost.–By Phil Conger