Click here for a 6-minute video: Francis’ life (Youtube 2025)

Sept. 2024

Terry Lynn’s step-dad, Francis Dalton, traveled by boat halfway around the world to fight in WWII, but he had never flown– until Sept. 2024. He would turn 103 years old on September 28, 2025. He was recognized by the Honor Flight Network on September 14. 100 veterans and their attendees made the trip. Originally, the Honor Flight was created to honor the WWII veterans. Now it is open to all veterans. Francis was the only WWII veteran on this trip.

An angel, Sandra Harper, met Francis where she works at the VA Hospital in Bridgeport. She regularly checked in on Francis, who lived on his own in Morgantown, WV, until February 2025. She accompanied Francis when they flew to DC. They visited the WWII Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery, F.D.R.’s monument, and many other memorials.

On the flight, they did a mail call for the veterans. We thank all the folks who sent mail to Francis.

At each stop, when they took off at the Clarksburg airport, when they landed at DC, and at the memorials, there were honor guards and a thankful public who thanked him and the other veterans for their service.

The Honor Flight

I would also like to publicly recognize Billie Jo Claypool, coordinator of the Honor Flight program. Donations are needed to continue this program. Here are some ways to donate to the Clarksburg Honor Flight Huntington:

Mail: Send donations to 430 W. Pike St., Clarksburg, West Virginia 26301, addressed to the Clarksburg Honor Flight

Drop off donations: at the Clarksburg Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) main office at 430 W. Pike St., Clarksburg, West Virginia 26301

Donate online: www.honorflight.org

Here is Francis’ story. Francis served 65th Engineer Combat Battalion of the 25th Infantry Division from February 1942 until Sept. 1945. Why/ how did he live so long?

He was shot twice in the Philippines during WWII– earning him a Purple Heart.

He was raised on fat back most days.

At 8 years old, he went into the mines with his dad. Other than his time as a GI, he would spend the rest of his working life in the mines.

His truck was struck by a train when it stalled on the tracks.

He has had some serious health challenges. Yet, he was living alone in 2024. He mows his own yard.

Early life

Francis was born in 1921. He grew up in Maidsville, WV, across the Monongahela River from Star City/ Morgantown. He was underage when he enlisted, so his mother had to sign giving her permission. He and a friend were sent to Fort Thomas, Kentucky to be sworn in, but the friend did not qualify and was sent home. Francis was then sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for seven weeks of basic training in February 1942. Next, he was sent to San Francisco (Angel’s Island.) He was on a Mormac Star. His next destination was Honolulu in April 1942. He sailed into Pearl Harbor only four months after the attack, so he saw much of the wreckage. He was based there for 6 months. He was fortifying the base against attack, building pillboxes and bridges. He was camping on 4th and School St. in an old Japanese school building.

As an engineer, his island hopping was on cargo ships or LSTs. LSTs could go pretty close to shore. They were a kind of barge.

The soldiers did not have mess halls. You just ate on deck. He first started running bulldozers on Guadalcanal. One of the operators preferred to let Francis run the bulldozer. Later, officers recognized Francis’s skill and gave him his own bulldozer.

The sergeant would point to a distant hill, indicating the goal. He trusted Francis to find the best grade, the actual course of the road.

At some point, Francis was shipped to New Zealand for a short break.

Later, he was shipped to Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines. As they were advancing on Manila, a bomber prematurely dropped a bomb, missing Francis’s outfit by mere feet. The pilot circled back and dropped a note attached to a crescent wrench. The note instructed the Americans to “Wave if no one hurt.” The pilot circled back, and when he saw the men wave, he waggled his wings and flew off.

In another incident, Francis remembered cutting roads through incredibly dense jungles. He couldn’t see much in front of him, as there was an armored cab. He was lifting the blade to spread some loose dirt. He happened to glance behind him and was astounded to see a GI rise out of the loose dirt. The GI confirmed that the bulldozer had run over him, but the dirt was loose, so the soldier did not have a scratch.

One time, a Japanese soldier stepped out of the woods. Francis realized how vulnerable he was. Luckily this Japanese soldier was surrendering. Another Japanese soldier had gotten frightened and ran back into the forest. Francis bore no ill will toward the Japanese. He understood they were just soldiers doing a job like himself.

Francis spent 165 days one time without a break.

Daily life could be more comfortable with a little ingenuity. Francis found he could cook the cans of food in his “C” rations on the hot manifold of the dozer, leaving them there for about 30 minutes. C rations included hash, beans, and stew.

When not in base camp, Francis shared a pup tent with Harold Epps. He had two blankets but no ground tarp. Water would accumulate on the inside of the tent, so you were careful not to touch the side of the tent. Francis also became friends with Luther Taylor, who like Harold, was from South Carolina. Sgt. Bill Chris was from North Carolina but later lived in Oregon.

Base camp, back from the front line, was more comfortable, with a big 5 man tent and cots.

At some point, Francis stopped at Tahiti. He was also based in New Caledonia, a French colony. It had been a leper colony, and the GI’s were warned to avoid contamination. Francis told of one unpleasant experience with a bar in New Caledonia. He had never drunk spirits, and this bar was serving cold rum and cokes. It was hot and those rum and cokes tasted good. He doesn’t remember much about the ensuing truck ride back to base, but it was very unpleasant– and he had the bruises to prove it.

Francis was wounded twice which earned him a Purple Heart. Bullets entered the armored bulldozer killing another GI and wounding Francis.

Many GIs suffered from health problems that originated from the time in the service. Despite the fact that the soldiers took quinine daily, Francis contracted malaria. This meant 5 weeks in hospital. He had recurrences of the malaria symptoms years later, including high temperatures and violent chills.

Otherwise, Francis was fairly healthy during his years overseas. He could remember receiving treatment for his eyes. The doctors thought dust caused infection in his eyes.

A young man finding himself almost 3000 miles from home might expect several unusual sights. Francis commented how the locals tied their feet together to climb coconut trees. Francis was part of a Hawaiian division that included Tahitians and Portuguese soldiers. These men were very much at home next to the sea. They would venture out into the reef to gather different foods. Francis remembered them collecting big sea clams from the reef. Francis never cared for seafood, so this was no treat for him.

He was discharged in September 1945, at Atterbury, Indiana. He was on his way stateside when Hiroshima was bombed.

65th Brigade Engineer Battalion

Unit Nickname: Bayonets

Unit Motto: “First In, Last Out”

…swiftly deployed to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands to participate in the Guadalcanal Campaign.[5]

Charlie Company, 65th Brigade Engineer Battalion used coconut trees to construct a Corduroy Road in New Georgia during World War II. The road is capable of supporting 155 mm howitzers.[4]

The Japanese held strong defensive fortifications on Mount Austen as well as on two nearby ridges: Seahorse and Galloping Horse. Offensive operations to capture the three locations began on 7 January 1943. Despite the fact that the 65th Engineer Battalion was poorly equipped, they aided in the seizure of the key terrain by opening roads and maintaining lines of communication. They also opened up supply routes to the interior by dredging the Matanikau River allowing free movement for boats.[4] In January 1943 XIV Corps went on the offensive.[10] As XIV Corps moved into the Northern Solomons, New Georgia, Vella LaVella, Sasavele, and Kolombangara, the 65th Engineer Battalion continued to support freedom of maneuver and facilitate resupply routes by improving roads and trails and building bridges and fording sites.

On 11 January 1945, the 65th landed on Luzon in continued support of the 25th ID who was then assigned to the Sixth Army. The unit faced continuous fierce ground combat and was removed on 30 June 1945.[9] At the end of WWII, the 65th Engineer Battalion received 4 campaign streamers: Central Pacific, Guadalcanal, Northern Solomons, and Luzon. Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie Companies each also earned a Presidential Unit Citation for Gallantry on Luzon.

Recognition:

Francis was honored in the Westover Veterans’ Day parade in 2024.

We appreciate the kindness the mayor of Star City, Sharon Doyle, has shown Francis. She visited Francis at his home and presented gifts. Francis was the parade marshal for the Town of Star City (Morgantown) 2024 Christmas parade.

Ch. 12 WBOY coverage of Honor Flight:

Honor Flight 2024: Catching up with veterans on the morning of the flight

Photos: Clarksburg area veterans go to Washington DC on Honor Flight

Ch. 5 WDTV: Veterans fly to D.C. on Clarksburg Honor Flight

Jim Bissett of the Dominion Post, Morgantown, wrote this tribute in Sept. 2024:

Francis is now in the VA Nursing Home. I’m sure he would love to hear from you:

Francis Dalton Room 235
WV Veterans Nursing Facility

1 Freedom Way,

Clarksburg, WV 26301

304-626-1600.

Francis Turned 103 Sept. 28, 2024. Westover VFW Post 9916 honored him. (These are their photos.) Star City Mayor Sharon Doyle honored Francis with the Proclamation.

Nov. 2024 Veterans Day parade Westover, WV From Sandy Harper

Sept. 2025

Francis Dalton, ‘oldest miner in America,’ turns 104 this weekend www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/francis-dalton-oldest-miner-in-america-turns-104-this-weekend/article_9132e9ca-5b66-415f-9188-64508828a332.html

2025 Sept.28 Francis Dalton 104th Birthday
WBOY TV West Virginia native known as the ‘oldest miner in America’ turns 104 in Clarksburg https://www.wboy.com/news/harrison/west-virginia-native-known-as-the-oldest-miner-in-america-turns-104-in-clarksburg/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNOke9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHpgg6vc6X_a1c7RLE_V1qAWvnmIW1bZOwnfugc0rR7fj-DbkDfhVxXQm9rdx_aem_Wp98gmFOD4rQ7xkeAqXHV

Derick Board. is a veteran from Wheeling. His non-profit, Commemorate Through Chords,”is a veteran-driven music project that transforms the real-life stories of those who’ve served into powerful, emotional songs. Whether through acoustic ballads, gritty rock, or heartfelt country, every track honors the resilience, sacrifice, and healing journeys of veterans.

More than just a band – it’s a movement to connect, reflect, and give voice to the experiences that too often go unheard.”
Derick can be reached at 304-360-3526

2026. Francis died at 2:05 PM Friday, March 20. He was surrounded by so much love. Veteran buddies and staff. Terry Lynn was holding his hand. The Nursing home honored Francis with a beautiful send-off. Veterans, staff, family of veterans– lots of tears. The chaplain said he had not seen that kind of outpouring of love for “the mayor.” A brief service followed by Taps. They corrected the funeral home, “Francis came in feet first. He will leave feet first.” Hastings Funeral Home is going to try to have a 5-7 PM viewing this Thursday and an 11 AM Friday service also at the funeral home, followed by the graveside service at East Oak Grove. The town of Star City, office of the mayor wrote: “Francis truly was an inspiration to all who experienced him and his joy for life. I am forever grateful to have known him, and the Town of Star City is honored that he chose our little town to make his home. During this difficult time and the days ahead, may you, Terry, and your family be surrounded by prayers and comfort. We will lower the flag at City Hall tomorrow in honor of Francis, and it will remain at half-staff until he arrives at his final resting place.” I find that I sometimes have a jaded view of our society today. But if anybody would spend a little time with the veterans we met, and the staff who cared for them so lovingly, I believe we might all be inspired to try and be better people. There is a sign at the Nursing Home entrance which reads, “Heroes Serving Heroes.” The staff certainly exhibits that motto. Over the last week, staff and veterans would regularly come by to check on Francis. They would talk to him. They would pray with him. We would cry together. And there were plenty of stories evoking laughs. So, it was a life well lived. The soldier has truly gone home.

His obituary: https://www.hastingsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/francis-dalton Hastings plans to livestream the service.

Jim Bissett of the Dominion Post wrote another tribute to Francis on March 25, 2036. www.dominionpost.com/2026/03/23/francis-dalton-dies-at-104-world-war-ii-vet-who-fought-in-the-south-pacific-never-regarded-soldiers-on-the-other-side-as-the-enemy

Francis Dalton dies at 104: World War II vet who fought in the South Pacific never regarded Japanese soldiers as ‘the enemy’

March 23, 2026 7:46 pm by Jim Bissett/ The Dominion Post

CLARKSBURG – After the chaplain said a few words … and after the recording of Taps played … and after the American flag was respectfully draped over Francis Dalton’s body … four old vets who had kept company with Dalton in the nursing wing of the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center … acted accordingly.

They were all in wheelchairs, but they all stood up – and they all gave a crisp, military salute to their brother who had just transitioned.

“I can’t tell you how moving that was,” Dalton’s son-in-law, Steve Bailes said. “That gesture meant everything.”

At 104, Dalton, who died Saturday afternoon at the facility in Clarksburg, is among the last of the-then young men who marched off to fight in World War II.

The Maidsville native was working in the mines when the news crackled across the radio of the events of Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

After basic training in Missouri, he was bound for the South Pacific. The troop ship docked briefly in Hawaii enroute, where Dalton saw the aftermath.

It was his first look at war. He grew up fast. By the time he was 23, he was already a grizzled veteran, having been wounded twice, doing his work with the 65th Brigade Engineer Battalion.

The men of the 65th built bridges and carved out roads while bullets snapped the air.

A buddy right next to him was shot dead when their armored bulldozer turned into a target – an agonizingly slow-moving target – during one such skirmish.

Like a lot of soldiers from West Virginia who wore the uniform in that war, Dalton came right back home.

And picked right up where he was before he enlisted.

THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES

Down the road, he met Doris Ott Ryan, a spirited lady who worked for Monongalia County Schools as a classroom aide who also did bus duty for the district.

It was a mid-life courtship and marriage for both. She was widowed, with three children who were by then making their own lives. There were Patrick, Joyce and Terry Lynn, who is married to Bailes.

“Francis had a way of drawing people in,” Terry Lynn said.

“He was never a ‘stepdad.’ He was our dad. He and mom married on our 11th wedding anniversary, same day, and our girls were in the wedding. That was special.”

Doris died in 2020, and Francis stayed by himself at their home in Star City for a long as he could.

As recently as two years ago, his was still mowing his lawn and cleaning out gutters, which entailed shimmying up a ladder – which family and neighbors alike really, really wished he wouldn’t do.

Dalton would laugh.

“Well, it needs done and I’m here,” he’d say of those household chores.

Call that a metaphor for the Greatest Generation, if ever there was, Bailes said.

That’s a generation that’s long been in twilight.

More than 16 million Americans served in World War II, but according to the most recent numbers maintained by the National World War II Museum in New Orleans – only around 65,000 remain.

Call that standing-room only crowd at Milan Puskar Stadium, with a few hundred left over. The last of the vets from that war are expected to be seen in the late 2030s, the museum estimates.

PUTTING IT IN WORDS

It took a while before he opened up to his stepkids whom he regarded as his own about his experiences in the South Pacific, Terry Lynn said.

When he did, his recollection was as sharp as the ambient drop of needle on the grooves of a Glenn Miller record in a PX juke box – but he never told anything as a “war story,” she marveled.

One account, she couldn’t get over: Francis heard a rustling on the other side of the jungle wall.

He went stock-still. Of course, he was afraid. This wasn’t a John Wayne movie. This was real.

A Japanese soldier emerged.

Two young men, locked in the amber of the moment: One, hailing from the hills of north-central West Virginia who compelled to enlist after the Pacific fleet came under attack on a sunny December morning in paradise. The other, a conscript to the cause of imperial Japan who had been defined by a code of honor and duty that existed for a millennium.

Perhaps the latter is why it was so extraordinary, as to what happened next.

The Japanese soldier bowed – and surrendered.

Don’t call him “the enemy,” Dalton said for the rest of his days.

“We were all the same,” he said. “Young, and following orders.”

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

Terry Lynn stayed in Francis’ room for a week when it became apparent the end was near.

“I was holding his hand when he died. I’m so grateful I got to do that. It was an honor. I don’t know how else to say it.”

Meanwhile, Dalton will be honored this week with a military burial.

Hastings Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements, which are still being planned.

Star City Mayor Sharon Doyle has ordered flags in town to fly at half-staff until after the services. 

2026 March 21, Sharon Doyle, Star City, office of the mayor wrote: “Francis truly was an inspiration to all who experienced him and his joy for life.

I am forever grateful to have known him, and the Town of Star City is honored that he chose our little town to make his home.

During this difficult time and the days ahead, may you, Terry, and your family be surrounded by prayers and comfort.

We will lower the flag at City Hall tomorrow in honor of Francis, and it will remain at half-staff until he arrives at his final resting place.”