{"id":1490,"date":"2026-10-31T17:27:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T17:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=1490"},"modified":"2026-11-01T00:37:56","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T00:37:56","slug":"bob-army-years","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=1490","title":{"rendered":"Bob Roling\u2019s Army years"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style>.family-topic-breadcrumb{font-size:.95rem;margin:0 0 22px}.family-topic-intro{max-width:68ch;line-height:1.7}.family-topic-menu{display:grid;grid-template-columns:repeat(2,minmax(0,1fr));gap:14px;margin:26px 0}.family-topic-menu a{display:block;padding:18px;border:1px solid #c9cec8;border-radius:4px;background:#f5f2e9;text-decoration:none;color:#293d30;min-height:52px}.family-topic-menu strong{display:block;font-size:1.1rem}.family-topic-menu span{display:block;margin-top:6px;color:#4f574e;line-height:1.55;font-size:.95rem}.family-topic-related{border-top:1px solid #d8d2c5;margin-top:32px;padding-top:18px}.family-topic-related a{display:inline-block;margin:6px 22px 6px 0}.family-topic-breadcrumb a:focus-visible,.family-topic-menu a:focus-visible,.family-topic-related a:focus-visible{outline:3px solid #98513b;outline-offset:4px}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb){max-width:960px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb)>p{line-height:1.7}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb) :is(h2,h3){scroll-margin-top:24px}.wp-block-post-content:has(.family-topic-breadcrumb) a{overflow-wrap:anywhere}@media(max-width:600px){.family-topic-menu{grid-template-columns:1fr}.family-topic-menu a{padding:16px}}<\/style>\n<nav class=\"family-topic-breadcrumb\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/\">Home<\/a> \u203a <a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=7\">Roling family<\/a> \u203a Bob Roling\u2019s Army years<\/nav>\n<p class=\"family-topic-intro\">Fort Riley, Trieste, Camp Rucker and the Reserve years. Sources remain with the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure id=\"bob-military-service-photo\" class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"max-width:720px;margin:24px auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-during-his-military-service.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-during-his-military-service.jpg\" alt=\"Bob Roling wearing a helmet and uniform, seated in a military vehicle.\" class=\"wp-image-1979\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1152\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-during-his-military-service.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-during-his-military-service-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-during-his-military-service-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-during-his-military-service-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bob Roling during his military service.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure id=\"bob-army-portrait-1953\" class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"max-width:420px;margin:24px auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Bob-Roling-formal-Army-portrait.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-1989\" src=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Bob-Roling-formal-Army-portrait.jpg\" alt=\"Bob Roling smiling in a formal Army portrait, wearing a peaked cap, uniform and tie.\" width=\"1152\" height=\"1536\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display:block;width:100%;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Bob-Roling-formal-Army-portrait.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Bob-Roling-formal-Army-portrait-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/Bob-Roling-formal-Army-portrait-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1152px) 100vw, 1152px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bob Roling in a formal Army portrait, labeled 1953 on the associated reverse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"bob-roling-military-service\">Bob Roling from Fort Riley to Trieste<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Active Army service 1953\u20131955 and Army Reserve service through 1961<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robert Eugene \u201cBob\u201d Roling\u2019s Army papers trace two years of active service, followed by an Army Reserve obligation that ended in 1961. Orders, a family photograph and his later questionnaires connect those years with Fort Riley, Trieste and Italy. [1, 3\u20137, 9]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Training at Fort Riley<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Selective Service letter dated February 10, 1953, instructed Bob to report on March 11 for forwarding to the induction station. His Army separation record gives March 12, 1953, as his actual induction date at Kansas City, Missouri. [1\u20132]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By July, Bob was a trainee in Company K, 86th Infantry Regiment, 10th Infantry Division, at Fort Riley, Kansas. A photograph preserved by the family carries the handwritten caption \u201cBob at Fort Riley\u201d and the year 1953. [3\u20134]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Orders for Trieste<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On July 14, 1953, orders directed Bob through Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, for shipment to Trieste United States Troops, known as TRUST. They called for travel to begin July 20 and for him to report at Camp Kilmer by August 4. These were planned movements; the papers do not establish his arrival date in Trieste. [3]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A later family recollection headed \u201cBridget Morrison Roling\u201d recalls Bob being stationed in Trieste. His signed Army Reserve questionnaires also record residence in Italy, reporting sixteen months in 1956 and fifteen months in 1957. The differing estimates are preserved in the record. [5\u20136]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"bob-dick-la-spezia\"><h3>Two brothers meet in Italy<\/h3>\n<p>Army service took Bob to Trieste, while Navy service brought his brother Dick to the Mediterranean aboard the destroyer <em>USS Rooks<\/em>. For two days, their paths crossed in La Spezia, Italy. A newspaper clipping saved by the family reported that Bob had moved from Trieste to Leghorn and was awaiting his next assignment when the brothers met.<\/p>\n<p>It was a little piece of home a long way from Salisbury: two brothers serving in different branches, with a chance to spend time together overseas.<\/p>\n<details><summary>Source<\/summary><p>Family-preserved \u201cNews Of Service Men\u201d clipping. The report names Robert and Richard Roling as sons of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Roling and says they spent two days together in La Spezia. Its publication date is not visible.<\/p><\/details><\/section>\n<section id=\"bob-off-duty-artifacts\"><h3>Two cards from Bob\u2019s Army years<\/h3>\n<p>Bob kept two small cards that show another side of Army life. His Fort Riley liberty pass, issued April 11, 1953, covered \u201cNormal Off Duty Hours.\u201d A separate TRUST card, issued July 3, 1954, authorized him to wear civilian clothes during off-duty hours. One concerned time off; the other concerned what he could wear. Neither card identifies the La Spezia reunion as its purpose.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"max-width:720px;margin:24px auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-Fort-Riley-liberty-pass-April-11-1953.jpg\" style=\"display:block;position:relative;aspect-ratio:4\/3;overflow:hidden\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-Fort-Riley-liberty-pass-April-11-1953.jpg\" alt=\"Armed Forces liberty pass for Robert E. Roling at Fort Riley, Kansas.\" class=\"wp-image-1147\" width=\"1206\" height=\"1608\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"position:absolute;left:50%;top:50%;width:75%;max-width:none;height:auto;transform:translate(-50%,-50%) rotate(-90deg)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-Fort-Riley-liberty-pass-April-11-1953.jpg 1206w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-Fort-Riley-liberty-pass-April-11-1953-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-Fort-Riley-liberty-pass-April-11-1953-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-Fort-Riley-liberty-pass-April-11-1953-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1206px) 100vw, 1206px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bob\u2019s Fort Riley liberty pass, issued April 11, 1953, for normal off-duty hours. Family collection. <a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-Fort-Riley-liberty-pass-April-11-1953.jpg\">Open the original photograph<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\" style=\"max-width:720px;margin:24px auto\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-TRUST-civilian-clothes-authorization-July-3-1954.jpg\" style=\"display:block;position:relative;aspect-ratio:4\/3;overflow:hidden\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-TRUST-civilian-clothes-authorization-July-3-1954.jpg\" alt=\"TRUST authorization card for Robert E. Roling to wear civilian clothes during off-duty hours.\" class=\"wp-image-1148\" width=\"1206\" height=\"1608\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"position:absolute;left:50%;top:50%;width:75%;max-width:none;height:auto;transform:translate(-50%,-50%) rotate(-90deg)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-TRUST-civilian-clothes-authorization-July-3-1954.jpg 1206w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-TRUST-civilian-clothes-authorization-July-3-1954-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-TRUST-civilian-clothes-authorization-July-3-1954-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-TRUST-civilian-clothes-authorization-July-3-1954-1152x1536.jpg 1152w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1206px) 100vw, 1206px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bob\u2019s authorization to wear civilian clothes during off-duty hours, issued July 3, 1954. Family collection. <a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Bob-Roling-\u2014-TRUST-civilian-clothes-authorization-July-3-1954.jpg\">Open the original photograph<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"hugh-paul-farnen-sunday-dinners\">A ride to church and Sunday dinner<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tim remembers Hugh Paul Farnen telling him about the time he was stationed in Alabama while Bob and Bridget were there. Hugh Paul did not have a car, so on Sundays they would take him to church, then bring him back to their apartment for dinner. It was a small kindness that Hugh Paul still remembered years later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Farnen family appears beside the Rolings in a 1968 newspaper birth column. Hugh Paul and Gladys\u2019s son, Steven Paul Farnen, later served as an Army Reserve specialist with the 477th Transportation Company. He was 22 when an Iraqi Scud missile struck U.S. Army barracks at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on February 25, 1991, killing him during Operation Desert Storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sources:<\/strong> Tim Roling\u2019s recollection of conversations with Hugh Paul Farnen, shared in October 2026; <cite>Salisbury Press-Spectator<\/cite>, 1968 birth announcement preserved in the family archive; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/CREC-2001-02-27\/pdf\/CREC-2001-02-27.pdf#page=15\">Congressional Record, February 27, 2001, page H427<\/a>; <a href=\"https:\/\/qmmuseum.army.mil\/research\/history-heritage\/water\/14th-QM-Detachment.html\">U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum memorial roster<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Release from active service and the Reserve years<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bob was a corporal when he was honorably released from active service at Camp Rucker, Alabama, on March 11, 1955. His separation record names Company M, 351st Regimental Combat Team, at Camp Rucker as his most significant duty assignment. The full dates and locations of his Company M service remain to be established. [1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The same record lists the National Defense Service Medal and two years of active service, including one year, three months and thirteen days of foreign and\/or sea service. That total does not establish an exact length of residence in Italy. [1, 6]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His transfer to the Army Reserve took effect on March 12, 1955. A March 1956 letter designated him for emergency reinforcement if mobilization became necessary. On April 8, 1961, he was honorably discharged from the Army Reserve. [7\u20139]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Blue Devil and the setting of his service<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The family preserved the September 1954 Blue Devil Souvenir Edition, a contemporary view of TRUST. Page 15 describes the command\u2019s headquarters at Miramare; page 20 presents the 351st Infantry and its battalion installations. These pages provide historical context for Bob\u2019s story. No reviewed readable caption identifies him, and the souvenir does not establish his barracks or his participation in the activities described below. [10]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Training could take soldiers well beyond Trieste. A photograph on page 23 shows a convoy assembling at Soldiers\u2019 Field for the three-day journey to Grafenwohr, Germany. Its caption describes annual training that combined several days of firing practice with exercises at platoon, company and battalion level. The same page also shows Second Battalion soldiers cleaning weapons after firing at Basovizza, giving a glimpse of the work that followed a day on the range. [10, p. 23]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In downtown Trieste, Stazione Marittima gathered many everyday services under one roof. It housed APO 209, the command\u2019s Army post office, along with the main post exchange, bowling alleys and the Sugar Bowl, which served everything from drinks to full meals. Upstairs, the Service Club offered a library, a reading room with current magazines and a game room. These facilities show how TRUST supported ordinary routines alongside military duties. [10, p. 24]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The souvenir also records places to spend time after duty. Page 26 describes year-round competition at Soldiers\u2019 Field in Opicina and shows a soldier band at the First Battalion\u2019s Tiger Terrace and open-air tables at the Second Battalion\u2019s Patio Club. At Soldiers\u2019 Beach on the Adriatic at Sistiana, the following page describes swimming and diving, tennis, volleyball and other recreation. Dressing rooms and almost all equipment were provided free of charge. [10, pp. 26\u201327]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The following papers and photograph are held in the family collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[1] Robert Eugene Roling, DD Form 214, March 11, 1955.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[2] Selective Service Board No. 21, Chariton County, letter, February 10, 1953.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[3] Headquarters 10th Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Special Orders No. 162, July 14, 1953, paragraph 65 and continuation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[4] Family photograph annotated \u201c1953\u201d and \u201cBob at Fort Riley.\u201d Identification follows the family caption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[5] Family recollection headed \u201cBridget Morrison Roling.\u201d The writing date and authorship of added annotations are unestablished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[6] Signed Army Reserve Qualification and Availability Questionnaires, April 29, 1956, and January 25, 1957. Italy residence is recorded as sixteen and fifteen months, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[7] Camp Rucker Reserve transfer letter and signed continuation, effective March 12, 1955.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[8] Missouri Military District, Emergency Reinforcement Designation, March 30, 1956. This concerns a possible mobilization assignment, not active-duty National Guard service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[9] Headquarters XI United States Army Corps, Army Reserve discharge letter, April 8, 1961.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[10] The Blue Devil, September 1954 Souvenir Edition, pp. 15, 20, 23\u201324 and 26\u201327. The reviewed family copy now contains all 28 issue pages, including pages 10 and 11. Collection review, October 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"family-addendum-story-5\">Back at work, with a growing family<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bob&#x27;s January 1957 Reserve questionnaire places his return to civilian life beside his continuing military obligation. He listed plumbing and heating as his occupation, with new installation and repair as his principal duties. The same form recorded a wife and two young sons. Asked about preparations before a possible mobilization, his concern was practical: time to provide for his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Source: Bob Roling\u2019s Reserve questionnaire, January 25, 1957.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<nav class=\"family-topic-related\" aria-label=\"Related pages\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=7\">\u2190 Roling family<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/?page_id=1510\">Roling stories<\/a><\/nav>\n\n\n<script>(function(){function revealTopicTarget(){var name;try{name=decodeURIComponent(window.location.hash.slice(1));}catch(e){return;}if(!name){return;}var target=document.getElementById(name);if(!target){return;}var node=target.parentElement;while(node){if(node.tagName==='DETAILS'){node.open=true;}node=node.parentElement;}}revealTopicTarget();window.addEventListener('hashchange',revealTopicTarget);})();<\/script>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home \u203a Roling family \u203a Bob Roling\u2019s Army years Fort Riley, Trieste, Camp Rucker and the Reserve years. Sources remain with the story. Bob Roling during his military service. Bob Roling in a formal Army portrait, labeled 1953 on the associated reverse. Bob Roling from Fort Riley to Trieste Active Army service 1953\u20131955 and Army [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":7,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1490","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1490"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1991,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1490\/revisions\/1991"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tim-roling.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}