Belhaven WWII vet celebrates 105th birthday

Published 11:17 am Tuesday, March 12, 2024

By Clark Curtis

1 of 6

Bag of chocolates brings a huge laugh (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Roscoe with his daughter Sarah Singer (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Neighbor Pat Ball embraces Roscoe. (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Roscoe enjoying a piece of birthday cake (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Carol Roop, executive director of The Belhaven Chamber of Commerce, and Roscoe (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Friend Pam Knoblauch and Roscoe (Clark Curtis/For WDN)

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

So what is it like for a World War II vet who, in his own words “saw the whole nine yards,” to celebrate his 105th birthday with family and friends? “I’m just going to start over and make another round,” said Belhaven resident Roscoe Joyner with a huge chuckle. “That is what it is all about, just taking it one day after the other.” And that he has.

Joyner was born on March 11, 1919 to Berry and Ella Joyner in the small town of Spring Hope, which is barely a blip on the radar about halfway between Rocky Mount and Raleigh. In 1941, just six months before Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army. He would eventually be assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Battery of the 203rd Field Artillery Group where he would provide air and ground observation about potential targets for artillery battalions in Europe.

“I have been a very lucky man during my lifetime and lucky to still be alive,” said Joyner. “I never got a scratch over there. We got shot up one time, made our way back, crash landed, got us another plane, and went back up looking for targets. Lucky, lucky, lucky! The good Lord must have been with me all of the time.”

To this day, Joyner said he sometimes thinks about all of the places and things that he has seen, but doesn’t like to dwell on it too much. “I have a lot of memories of the war,” said Joyner. “I sleep pretty good if I don’t get to thinking about them. But if I do before I go to bed, I just tumble around all night. I reckon everybody has a bad night now and then.”

But on his 105th birthday it was nothing but good memories with the family and friends, whose lives he has touched over the years, as they celebrated with him. One complete with a yellow birthday cake with chocolate icing – minus the 105 candles – the occasional gift bag of chocolates, cards and well wishes. “It really is special for all of these folks to come and see me,” said Joyner. “I can’t always remember all of their names, but it really means a lot.”

As for the age-old question, “what do you attribute your longevity to?” “Clean living and behaving yourself!” Joyner said with a huge laugh. “The good Lord has let me live this long. Yes sir, He sure has.”