In the 30 days that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, 134,000 Americans enlisted in the military. The attack that prompted the United States to enter the war had a profound effect on Ravenna resident Vernon Roen, who at the time was a high school senior in a small town in Wisconsin.
“I passed the flight exam in high school,” the Ravenna resident noted, “and enlisted the day after I graduated from high school.” To begin his military service, Roen boarded a troop train in Chicago, headed to Santa Ana, California for three months of pre-flight training. Several months later, he headed to flight school at Rankin Aeronautical Academy in Tulare, California. Rankin was established to train United States Army Air Corps flight cadets from 1941 until July 1945. During that time, over 10,000 cadets attended training. Roen was among the 8,000 who graduated from Rankin and went on to become pilots during the war.
From Rankin, Roen traveled to Savannah, Georgia for further training before joining a heavy bomber flight crew in New York. From there, he and his crew headed to Newfoundland in their heavy bomber to join the war effort. During the war, Roen spent time flying missions from Marrakesh, Algeria, and Pantanella Airfield in southern Italy. At Pantanella, Roen was part of a heavy bomber group who flew B-24 Liberator planes and participated in strategic bombing missions throughout southern and eastern Europe. According to Sherwood Truman at Portage County Veterans Services, Vernon was shot down over Italy on one of those missions, and later rescued by Polish Freedom Fighters.
“I was stationed in Italy about a year,” Roen recalled. After the war, he returned to Wisconsin where he met and married Lila. Their family grew to include Theodore (Ted), Nancy, and Kevin. Eventually, the couple moved their young family to Ravenna, OH where they opened an A & W Restaurant in 1956. In 1957, they opened another A & W in Kent. 1960 and 1963 the Roen family opened A & W locations in Tallmadge and Maple Heights, as well. Both their sons worked alongside them, with Ted and his family managing the Maple Heights location. Vernon and Lila continued to manage the Ravenna location until Lila’s unfortunate death in 1983. The two spent 37 years together raising their family and running their businesses.
As Vernon gave up day-to-day operations in the mid-80s, his son Ted and daughter-in-law, Alma took over the Ravenna location. In fact, it was Alma who introduced Vernon to his current wife, Katy, when she set the two up on a blind date. Vernon and Katy have been married for 37 years. “The good Lord blessed me with two good women,” Vernon marveled. “And my business flourished beyond my wildest dreams,” he added.
Vernon worked from 1956 until 2021, stepping aside from day-to-day operations in the mid 1980s to focus on accounting and payroll for the operations. Daughter-in-law Alma noted, “He was hands-on, and oversaw the businesses better than any CPA with a four-year-degree.”
The Maple Heights and Tallmadge locations were sold in the mid-1980s. The Ravenna location, which was managed by Ted and Alma Roen, was sold in 2018. That location employed four generations of the Roen family. The legacy lives on, as Vernon’s youngest son, Kevin, continues to run the Kent A & W location.
“Vernon amazes us at all the work he put in,” Alma shared. She explained that as hard as Vernon worked, he also set aside time to have fun, too. He and his wife enjoyed travel, dining and dancing, and enjoy celebrating family milestones with their children and grandchildren. “As a business leader, a boss, and a father, he’s been thriving,” Alma noted. “He’s just a wonderful human.”
Vernon celebrated his 100th birthday last Saturday. He rang in this incredible day enjoying dinner and live music at Hofbrauhaus – surrounded by his family. This weekend, Portage County Veterans Services will be honoring Vernon for his military service (and his 100th birthday) at the Ravenna VFW on February 10th.
