Hubert Roy Strong

Hubert Roy Strong passed away on December 4, 2009, aged 90. He was born in Mississippi on July 14, 1919. After graduating from high school, he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps until enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1939. As part of his C.C.C. work, he recounted unearthing Civil War bones while maintaining the National Monument at Vicksburg. Roy served in some of the most significant campaigns in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He received a battlefield commission with the First Marine Division. He was with that unit during the pivotal battle of Guadalcanal. His arrival on that island with his comrades in November 1942, marked the point where the Allies began to go on the offensive. He also earned a Silver Star for gallantry as a Platoon Leader during the bloody invasion of Peleliu. Roy later served in the Korean War and retired as a Captain after twenty-two years of service. He then earned a degree with the help of the G.I. Bill and proudly worked a second career as an educator for over twenty years with the Colton Joint Unified School District. Roy enjoyed dogs and, with his wife, bred and showed champion Cairn Terriers for over thirty years. He lived the last forty-three years of his life in Yucaipa. Roy is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, the former Laura C. O'Neill also of Yucaipa, two children, Susan Trenschel of Goleta, and Michael Strong of Honolulu, Hawaii; five grandchildren, Chris Trenschel of San Francisco, Sarah Trenschel of Goleta, Eric Strong of Grand Terrace, Dylan Strong of Kauai, Hawaii, and Austin Strong of Honolulu, Hawaii; and three great-grandchildren, Roy Strong (his namesake), August Strong and Maxim Strong, all of Grand Terrace. Family under the care of Emmerson Bartlett Memorial Chapel, Yucaipa, CA.