World War II veteran celebrates 100 years

Apr. 13—Few things have come easy for 100-year-old Leroy Setzer.

At age 9 he lost his father; at 15 he got his first job helping build ships, and at 17 he entered what would be a 20-year career with the U.S. Navy, including fighting in the Pacific during World War II. However, he says, there is nothing about his life that he would have changed.

After all, he built a good life while championing freedom for the nation and the world.

The early years

Setzer was born in Maggie Valley before motel signs lit the night and visitors clogged the highway enroute to Ghost Town or other tourist attractions.

"It was a much quieter life," he said.

His grandfather, Jack Setzer, homesteaded in the valley. After the federal government accepted his application for a community post office, Jack submitted prospective names. His first three were rejected as already in use, so he submitted the names of his daughters. One of those names was 'Maggie Mae,' and Maggie, N.C., became the official name of the post office in 1904, and the official title of the valley.

Leroy Setzer was destined to be surrounded by Maggies. His wife's name was Margaret, nicknamed Maggie and his granddaughter also goes by the name.

Setzer has always been a provider to those around him, having pulled himself up from his bootstraps at a young age.

After losing his father at the age of 9, he took on the role of 'man of the house.'

"It was tough. I'd get up, milk two cows, go squirrel hunting, catch the school bus and come to Waynesville," Setzer said.

He remembers the day his mother called him and his siblings together and said that, with difficult times, Christmas gifts would have to be oranges.

"So, she'd give us all an orange, and that's when I quit believing in Santa Claus," Setzer recalled

One of his favorite memories was when his aunt and uncle brought him and his three younger siblings, Bob, Betty and Joel, presents for Christmas, presents his mother could not afford to buy.

At 15, Setzer dropped out of Waynesville High School and went to work at the Newport News Shipbuilding for $5 an hour. The president of Newport News Shipbuilding, Homer Ferguson, was from Waynesville and would provide any Haywood man a job.

The job offered good pay for the times. However, a teenage Setzer felt confident in his ability to negotiate a higher pay. He asked for 10 cents more an hour and quit when he was refused.

"I asked for a 10-cent pay raise, and they denied me because I was a handyman electrician in the shipyard," Setzer said. "I learned a lesson — you don't demand a pay raise; you request a pay raise."

When Setzer was 17, his mother signed permission forms allowing him to join the military before he turned 18.

"The first pay I got from the military was a $5 bill," he recalled. "You had to buy toothpaste, cigarettes for all your personal needs." He went from making $5 an hour to $25 a month, but said it was worth it to fight for his country's freedom.

A call of duty

Setzer began his enlistment as a seaman and about two years later would be among the first group of sailors aboard the USS Yorktown (CV-10) aircraft carrier, "The Fighting Lady," commissioned in 1943.

The CV-10 was established after the former USS Yorktown (CV-5) sunk at the Battle of Midway.

The "Fighting Lady" was deployed in the Pacific Theater, participating in operations against Japanese forces.

"I was at sea for 18 months," Setzer said.

Setzer saw battle during "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot," the aerial part of the Battle of the Philippine Sea, in June 1944, when the Japanese aimed to inflict heavy losses on the American Pacific fleet. The strategy proved a huge mistake on the Japanese end. The Japanese had superior planes, but inferior pilots to the U.S., Setzer said. Their planes were faster and more maneuverable, but the U.S. pilots had gone through more training and shot down nearly 600 Japanese aircraft.

Setzer recalled the ocean looked like it held little campfires as the planes combusted after hitting the water.

Setzer played a crucial role in air warfare. His job was to relay instructions from the bridge flight officer to Navy pilots prior to take off.

"I was studying to be a shipboard electrician, but there was a shortage of (electricians in) aviation," Setzer recalled. "They created the job/aviation electronics and made me a third-class petty officer."

He was the man who would get the planes in the air.

"I just kept the airplanes in shape," Setzer said. "It felt good to get them off the deck. We'd catapult them off. I knew I was contributing to the warzone."

But being at sea for that long was no easy feat.

"I longed to come home to Haywood County," he said.

He would send money back to his family and letters that would have to go through a background check before being sent off.

"We had a post office aboard the ship and you could mail, but it had to be censored," Setzer said. "They were reading letters before they'd send it out because they were afraid you'd give them the location of the ship."

After the war

Following the war, Setzer lived in 14 different places including the Northeast, the South, the West Coast — and Midway Island, the site where the first USS Yorktown sank.

After 20 years in naval service, Setzer spent another 20 years working for Sears and Roebuck. He also had more time for camping, hunting and fishing. He loved his bird dogs and beagles.

"At that time, you had to pay a dog tax of a dollar and my daughter told somebody that I had 21 beagles, and they started charging me a dollar a piece," Setzer recalled.

Meeting his other half

One fortunate day, when he was on leave from service, Setzer met his wife at a house party on Main Street.

In 1946, he and Margaret Kirkpatrick of Iron Duff were married. Their family grew to include son Greg and daughter Gail.

In 1965, after he had returned home to Haywood County with his family, Setzer built the house he still lives in with the help of his brother-in-law.

His two greatest accomplishments, he said, have been building his home and raising his children. But with great love comes great loss. Setzer's wife passed away in the mid 1990s.

"It's tough. You never forget," Setzer said.

In the decades following his wife's death, Setzer never considered remarriage. "Definitely no. I wouldn't marry a woman if she had a million bucks," he said.

Secret to a long life

When questioned on the best years of his life, Setzer said he can't choose. "I wouldn't do anything over. I'm happy with my life," he said.

Of all the places Setzer has moved during his deployment, he deems his hometown the best one.

"I love the mountains, I wouldn't leave them for anything in the world," Setzer said.

Setzer attributes his longevity to his faith. His greatest advice is rooted in the Golden Rule, he said: "Treat others the way you'd like to be treated. Be kind to other people. Be truthful to other people."

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