Fort Peck Vet Recalls Life of Service

Joe Carson might as well be Joe Peck. He's the closest thing to a living embodiment of everything the town of Fort Peck has come to represent.

The affable veteran is calm, stoic but cheerful, and proud of the area that he and his wife Mary Ann have called home since May 2, 1959.

His memories are far from sensational. When asked how he feels about the Army so many years after his experiences in World War II, he replies simply and emphatically, "They gave me a good job."

It's hard to imagine a better answer.

Carson learned to drive trucks and operate heavy machinery overseas, a trade he stuck to for nearly all of his working life.

He was also introduced to the Army Corps of Engineers, which would provide a living for himself and his family from the late 1950s to January of 1986, when he retired.

The couple still reside in Fort Peck with the help of their extensive family. Their modest home is situated near the planned Northeast Montana Veterans Memorial Park across from the famous theatre and the Fort Peck Hotel.

Carson was a guest of honor at the ceremony marking the NMVMP's dedication last Memorial Day.

After arriving in a military vehicle-a jeep, no less, which is the assignment he'd hoped to pull in the Army-he placed a wreath at the site. The fact that he was paying respects to the names listed on a memorial erected partially in his honor is clearly indicative of how the man operates.

"I was hoping to get assigned to a jeep [during the war]," he explains, before stretching his feet out as an illustration of his punchline. "But they said my legs were too long."

It's a good thing he stuck with trucks, as the training and experience he gained established a skill set that was a perfect fit in civilian life.

After being drafted out of Wolf Point, where he worked for the Great Northern Railway laying ties and repairing track, Carson was processed through Fort Lewis in Washington State in 1943. From there, he shipped out to the Bay Area and off to the other side of the Pacific. His journey included a stopover in Luzon, New Guinea.

"It was after the bombing," is how he begins the tale, referring to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

His eventual and primary destination as a military man was Hawaii with the 6th Army, where he was assigned the role of driver on Oahu. His discharge papers are dated December 5, 1945, and note that he was skilled in constructive operation and maintenance, and transported heavy automotive equipment and military personnel under combat conditions.

Along the way, he was awarded the Phillippine Liberation Medal with one Bronze Service Star, a World War II Victory Medal, and an Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Service Medal.

The 92-year-old retiree is soft-spoken and direct. He recalls stopping for a break while stationed in New Guinea and selecting what looked to be an inviting spot on a mound nearby. Upon taking his spot on the raised area, he says, "I realized it was a body." It's the most graphic of his go-to tales from his time in the service and he tells it with undisguised mirth despite the morbid detail.

In 2013, Carson was included in an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., where, among other things, he shook Senator Jon Tester's hand.

The command performance at the capital was a fitting trbute to living veterans.

"They treated us right," he recalls. "They had everything set up."

The memorial at Fort Peck promises to be a more fitting tribute still (see below). Carson plans to stick around indefinitely.

"We'll probably be buried here," he remarks with evident pleasure.

Today, much of the rest of the Carson family continues to represent their elders proudly in the area and beyond.

All four children graduated from either Glasgow or Nashua High Schools and three of them are currently living in Montana.

Among the many grandchildren in question, Jason and Tyler Skolrud are serving with the Montana National Guard in Helena. It seems to run in the family.

Pressed on how the couple came together, Mary Ann admits, "I didn't know him when he was in the service." They met in Brockton, MT, where the former was living at the time.

"There was a crew there that was working on the railroad and he was working with them," she says.

Pressed further on what attracted her to her future husband, she offers, "He was so good looking!"

Mary Ann relates that her husband doesn't talk about his war years often. He explains with typical humility and candor:

"I have no complaints about what I've done in the service. I was treated well. I was happy to serve the United States. I enjoyed it. I wasn't in combat. I was in the engineers and I tried to do the job that they gave me."

Carson says he's enjoyed living in Fort Peck and likes to observe his handiwork around the town, much of which is still in place.

The fencing he helped erect for the buffalo on the edge of town is a fond memory.

The circle of public lawn in front of the couple's home gives Carson, "a good feeling."

Many of the roads and traffic features in the area are among the features that he helped build and maintain.

There's something nice and relaxed about strolling around the hill where Carson lives, knowing that a piece of living history remains in place. According to Joe, it's right where he wants to remain.