Elk Rapids High School

Veterans Day, November 11, 2019

Featured WWII & Korean War Veteran – Marvin Carpenter, Storekeeper 1st Class, US Navy
 Born April 24, 1928 (Age 91)
 Elk Rapids High School Alumni, Graduation Class of 1945
 Served in the US Navy from 1945-1956
 Served on the USS Yorktown Aircraft Carrier in the Quality Supplies Department
 He was also a .50 caliber gunner on the USS Yorktown.
 He was on the USS Yorktown in Tokyo Bay, Japan on Sept. 2, 1945 when the peace treaty was signed.
 Marvin is the last living charter (founded 1946) member of AmVets Post 114, Elk Rapids.
 He met his wife-to-be “Rolene” in Elk Rapids at the Town Club in 1954. They married in 1955.
 Marvin and Rolene have been married for 64 years and they now live on Traverse St. in Elk Rapids.
 They have 2 daughters, Connie (Elk Rapids) and Linda (Grand Rapids).
 After his years of military service Marvin returned to Elk Rapids and served as an inspector for 36
years at Super Tool in Elk Rapids. (see picture)
 Although Elk Rapids High School didn’t have athletics in the 1940’s, Marvin developed a passion for
watching sports, especially football. According to Rolene, even now he watches football constantly.
 Marvin became an accomplished bowler and belonged to 2 different leagues here in Elk Rapids and
in Traverse City. (see picture)
 Marvin also spent a lot of his time as a younger man hunting and fishing and has been a member of
the Elk Rapids Golf Club for 58 years.
 Marvin had open heart surgery less than a year ago and was able to successfully rehabilitate to get
himself out of a wheelchair at the nursing home and back to his home in Elk Rapids. He now uses
just a cane and has resumed driving.
 Thank you to Marvin and Rolene for sharing a little bit about their life with us!

USS Yorktown, commissioned in 1943. Named for the Battle of Yorktown, 1781 during the Revolutionary
War for American Independence. It was modernized in the late 1940’s and was recommissioned in 1950 as
an antisubmarine attack carrier, serving through 1965 in Viet Nam. The USS Yorktown now serves as a
floating museum at Patriot’s Point, in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina near Charleston.