Arthur "Art" Theodore Lerohl

Jeremy Anderson2020-12-19T10:20:55-06:00

Name: Arthur "Art" Theodore Lerohl
Location of Birth: Bovey, Minnesota
Date of Birth: October 5, 1921
Date of Death: October 1, 1989
Parents: John Lerohl & Anna (Lalim) Lerohl
High School and Class: 1939 - Greenway High School, Coleraine, Minnesota
College:
Highest Rank: TEC 4 (Technical 4)
Branch: Army
Other Branch:
Date Sworn In: July 20, 1942
Place Sworn In:
Date of Discharge: January 25, 1946
Place of Discharge:
Military Awards:

Military Highlights:
WW II Draft Registration Cards – 10/16/1940 – 03/31/1947
State: Minnesota
Name: Arthur Theodore Lerohl
Race: White
Age: 20
Birth Date: October 5, 1921
Birth Place: Bovey, Minnesota, USA
Residence Place: Bovey, Itasca, Minnesota, USA
Registration Date: February 16, 1942
Employer: Partner in own retail business, Bovey, Itasca, Minnesota
Weight: 198
Height: 6
Complexion: Light
Eye Color: Blue
Hair Color: Brown
Next of Kin: John K. Lerohl, Bovey, Minnesota

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota – December 18, 1942 – “Dear Friends: Well I suppose by now I rate a good bawling out for not writing sooner. Well, there seems like a million and one things a guy has to do in the short time he gets off, so it’s really hard to manage to keep up-to-date on corresponding to all. To start with I received your Christmas gift about a week ago, and I want to thank you all very much for being so thoughtful to us soldiers. Like several others have already written, we greatly appreciate it very much. Also like others have stated, this Service Men’s Club is getting to be well known all over the country and everyone you talk to really wants to give our little town of Bovey a lot of credit for being so thoughtful to us in the service. I have been receiving the local paper just as regular as the days come around and when it comes, just about the whole barracks is around reading what soldiers in other parts of the country are doing. It seems like boys who have been transferred in our camp from others have met up with several boys from our part of the country – and it seems they are well-liked by all. In one instance there is a soldier here I am chumming with who is from Minneapolis, and he says he has spent several months up in Alaska with John Trebnick and Bill Pearson. His name is Huebschen, so Bill, if you write to John mention it to him and see if he had a memory of him. Well, as they all say this is another swell camp. Boy, a guy sure can’t beat it. For Thanksgiving Day we had one of the swellest meals I can ever remember of eating. You have to give the army credit that way – they have some swell trained cooks who can whip up a meal. For excitement there hasn’t been much to do evenings – so we usually go to shows. They have all first-run pictures so we are always up-to-date on movies. Every Wednesday night they have boxing matches over in the gymn [sic] in our large USO building, which is just across the street from our barracks. In this recreation building they have everything – 3 large reading rooms, library, gymn, restaurant, and also bowling alleys. They have basketball tournaments between the different companies in camp. So far our team is way in the lead, but our bowling team is all lost out. I wish we had a few Lavaliers and Geo. McKeeby on our team. Then, if all the other teams combined their scores, they still couldn’t beat us. About once a month they have USO shows. Some of these units travel to different camps to entertain soldiers, and they are really good. I think if a guy would go to see one of these in the cities, it would cost him a small fortune to see it. We have Sundays off most of the time, so Saturday nights are usually exciting ones – seeing a guy can sleep all day if he wants to. We usually hang around until after dinner, then we go to town to spend the afternoon and evening. The town of Cheyenne is just on the edge of the Fort, so you could almost walk in, but seeing they run busses you can ride in for a dime. You can get enough walking during the week. Denver, Colorado, is only about a hundred miles from here, so one week end a gang of us planned to spend the week end there. Well, it turned out that some of the fellows got detail work that Sunday so we called it off. But we still have high hopes of getting there – seeing it is so close by. As yet we haven’t received much basic training. All we have been getting is a half-hour every morning between seven and seven thirty, then at eight we go to work. Most of the fellows in our barracks have regular jobs. It isn’t a regular training unit. It’s really more like a unit that takes charge of running a fort. I have been working at Headquarters doing office work. It’s a little change from what I have been doing in the past – but I am managing fine. Well, it’s just about time for lights out so I’ll have to close for tonight., but hope I’ll be able to write sooner next time. I want to thank you again for your gift and also for sending me the local paper – it’s really a treat. I hope to be home Christmas on furlough, so I’ll be seeing you all soon. As always, Art Lerohl.”

Newspaper article: Bovey Press, Bovey, Minnesota - December 1945 – “Art Lerohl, in a greeting to the Bovey Press, added these lines: “Hope to be a civilian in about five weeks. Hold Bovey down for me until I get there.”

Wars Involved:
World War II

MIA / POW:

Civilian Life:
Art Lerohl owned and operated Art’s Standard Station in Coleraine for 15 years. He also worked as a maintenance worker and bus driver for School District 316, Coleraine, Minnesota for 5 years, and worked as a parts man and wrecker serviceman for Cliff Maki Body Shop in Coleraine for 15 years. He was a member of the American Association of Retired Persons.

Art died in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and is buried in Lakeview Cemetery, Coleraine, Minnesota (Block 38). He is survived by two brothers, Iver and John.

Tribal Affiliation(s):