Michael Albert “Mikey” Roy / US Marines

“Of all the jobs I’ve had, and all the things I’ve done in my life,” started Michael Roy. “I am most proud of my work with the Marine Corps League. I was a Marine during the Vietnam Era period. I didn’t go to Vietnam, but the general public painted me, and every other person in a US military uniform, with the same brush. We were spit on, heckled and harassed at every turn. And the war left some guys physically, mentally and psychologically broken. I wanted to help these people regain their life and their dignity. So, I joined the Marine Corps League.” As stated on their website, the Marine Corps League is for active, reserve, retired, veteran Marines and Navy Corpsman and Chaplains who served with Marine Units, to continue the faithful tradition of looking out for the Marines to their left and right and all services. Providing mentorship, career counseling, Veteran Service Officer VA support, assisting with transitions, and providing opportunities for family. Founded by Major General John Lejeune in 1923; for over 100 years the League continues to stand proud as a veteran’s service organization.

But, let’s start from the beginning…

Michael Roy was born in Nashua, NH, April 20, 1952, and lived in the Crown Hill section of town. “It was a great place to grow up,” said Roy. “We lived right next to where the city stored the school busses at night. If I didn’t hear the busses warming-up on a winter morning, I knew it had snowed the night before, and there would be no school that day.” He attended the Infant Jesus Parochial school, Spring St. Junior High and Nashua High School graduating in 1970. “After graduation I didn’t know what to do,” said Roy. “I worked at Howdy Beef n burger for a while, then Stadium Sub Shop on Amherst St. with no thoughts for the future. So, I decided the Marines would be my next step.”

Roy joined the US Marines in September, 1970, spent the next few months at Parris Island, SC for basic training, then went on to Camp Lejeune, NC for Infantry and Supply training. This was during the period when everyone at Camp Lejeune was bathing-in and drinking contaminated water. This resulted in Roy contracting kidney cancer. Luckily, it was caught early enough and doctors were able to completely eliminate it.

Roy spent the remainder of his two-year tour at Camp Pendlelton in southern California doing warehouse administration. Roy remembers, “There was a time when I thought I was going to go to Vietnam because there were a bunch of us that took jungle training. Then, I thought they may have been sending us to Okinawa. I guess they decided to keep me because I never left California. So, I bought a used car and, with a few buddies, saw all the southern California tourist places from Santa Monica Pier to Disneyland. I also got to go to Arizona to see family.”

Roy remembered, “After leaving the Marines, I did what most guys did back then, went back to my home town. Three weeks later, my draft notice caught up with me. I went to the recruiting office in downtown Nashua and showed them my DD214 proving that I had served and had been discharged. It was an older woman then-running the recruitment office and she wasn’t having any of it and told me I had better show up on my induction date or she would send the MP’s after me.” Fortunately, on the other side of Main St., was the office of Congressman James Cleveland, who by that time, had been in Washington for 10 years and apparently had some pull. Roy went up to the office. The receptionist asked if he had an appointment to which he had to say no… but then went on to explain his situation. Cleveland happened to have his office door open and heard the whole story. He came out, talked to Roy, made a copy of his DD214 form and told Roy, “That woman has been at that recruiting office since Pearl Harbor. She thinks she is Miss Selective Service. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.” Roy returned home… and never heard any more about it.

Now a civilian again, Roy went to work at Nashua Corporation in Merrimack NH and decided to take advantage of the GI Bill. He attended NH College for a year and then Hesser College that was holding classes at Bishop Guertin High School in Nashua. He was able to earn an Associates Degree in Business Management, Marketing and Sales, and Digital Electronics. He then earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting through Franklin Pierce College. At the time, the college was holding classes in a building on Amherst St. in Nashua. (The main campus for Franklin Pierce is in Rindge, NH.) 

After eight years at Nashua Corporation, Roy moved on to work at W. H. Bagshaw Co. in Nashua. It was then, after being at Bagshaw’s for a few years, that Roy discovered he had contracted Multiple Sclerosis. Bagshaw said they had to let him go – he had become a health hazard. A person working around machinery had to be steady on their feet and have steady hands.

With his accounting degree, Roy moved on to a position with the Internal Revenue Service, working first in Andover, MA, then in Boston, then back to Andover. Roy was trying to move up the ladder, but fell victim to reverse discrimination. Roy notes, “I bid for any number of jobs that I was more than qualified for. But time after time, the job was given to a woman, or a minority or a woman that was a minority. After a few instances like that, I could tell I was going nowhere with the IRS.”

Roy went on to a job with Fidelity selling mutual funds. He then took a job in Arizona working with the Vanguard Group helping people with their 401K and 403B accounts, then on to the Charles Schwab Company. His last job was with University of Phoenix on the military financial team. Finally, Roy’s Multiple Sclerosis caught up with him. He would sometimes fall asleep at his desk and sometimes just simply forget how to do the job. He explained, “Sometime I would just go brain-dead. I would forget how to do my job, forget people’s names… It was awful.” He left on a long-term disability in 2005.

Now, Roy had more time to devote to the Marine Corps League. He first became involved with the League in NH in the 1980’s. He rose through the ranks to become Department Commandant for NH and through his efforts was able to form the quad-state Marine Corps League for Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island. This gave them a large enough group for conventions and other group gatherings. One of his favorite jobs with the League was being the buyer for the Toys for Tots program. “Back then, we bought our toys at Zyla’s Auction House in Merrimack. Their prices made our dollars go further. They loved us. Who else is going to go to Zyla’s and drop $14,000 at a time! They even delivered to us” said Roy enthusiastically.

When Roy went to Arizona, he took his love of the Marine Corps League with him. He noted, “In Arizona, I served in every capacity except Department Commandant, although I was a Senior Vice Commandant.”

Roy explained one of the programs was aimed at female veterans. It was called, “Mary Ellen’s Place.” It was 15 studio-apartments where homeless female veterans could live for a time to get back on their feet. They were provided with some suitable clothing, taught how to interview for a job and so forth.

Roy is also enthused about the Arizona Homeless Veterans annual “Stand-Down” event. The website states, “This event is organized to provide outreach, medical screening, clothing and a lunch for homeless and at-risk veterans. Roy noted, “We had to have these events at a large venue. We have had as many as 2,000 people show up on a weekend. When you see these people, you hope that they will take the opportunity to get their life straightened out and moving forward again. Sadly, we see some of the same people every year. In fact, there is a small contingent of homeless Veterans; I call them Stand-Down Groupies, which simply travel from one Stand-Down event to another, all over the country.”

As our interview wound-down, Roy said that one of his biggest honors was being inducted into the Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame in 2015. The Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame Society is dedicated to preserving the traditions of the American military and all who served in it through community engagement, and service and support of society members, Arizona veterans and military personnel, and their families and survivors. Roy noted, “I was nominated three years in a row. The third year was the charm. There were 224 people nominated that year, and only 24 were chosen. I was one of the 24.” It’s no wonder that Roy was nominated… his HOF profile states that he regularly dedicated over 2,500 hours per year in volunteer time.

Roy continues to live in Sun City, Arizona with his wife Nancy.

Semper Fi…. Carry on, Marine!