PVT Conroy Gay

PVT Conroy Gay was born 3 Jul 1896 in Wendell, North Carolina. He was the 2nd of 3 sons born to Henry Herbert and Fannie Elizabeth (Ferrell) Gay. His father farmed but died in 1902. The boys were orphans when Fannie died in 1906. Conroy went by the name "Roy" most of his life. His older brother went to work for other farmers,  Roy was sent to live with a paternal uncle and their young brother was sent to an orphanage. Roy may have been "adopted" by his uncle John Gay who lived near Zebulon, North Carolina.

After entering the service, Roy was assigned to B Company 116th Infantry. He sailed for France with the unit aboard the USS Finland on 15 Jun 1918. It took the Finland only 13 days to cross the Atlantic from Hoboken, New Jersey to Saint Nazaire, France. After docking on 28 Jun 1918, the regiment received training in trench warfare and was then put into a "quiet" sector on the front lines. On 8 Oct 1918 a major offensive kicked off in the vicinity of Verdun of which the 116th was a part. The armistice was declared on 11 Nov 1918. Roy took ill, as did many others, and died of broncho pneumonia on 11 Dec 1918.

PVT Gay was repatriated and re-interred in the Gay Family Cemetery in Wendell, North Carolina.

Both brothers served in military.  Older brother William Ivan Gay served in the Army as a Wagoner for the period 1918-1919. Younger brother Henry Herbert Gay served in the Philippines as an Army PVT 1916-1921.