Alejandro Roybal

M/SGT USAG (RET) Alejandro (Alex) Roybal, born November 18, 1924 joined our Lord on March 19th, 2015. Alex was a man who loved God, his family and his country. Born to 1st Sgt Juan Roybal & Juanita Garcia Roybal in Brackettville, TX; Alex went to Brackett High & lettered 2 yrs in football.
When WWII broke out, Alex decided to enlist in the Navy to defend his country. He joined on Jan 10, 1942. He was first assigned to a PBY flying boat Squadron VP-43 & served in the Aleutian Islands until July 1943. On leave in route to El Paso for a family visit, he had a layover in Albuq, NM; it was there he met his future bride Vera. Upon his return to duty, he was assigned to the USS Suwanee, an aircraft carrier, and served in several landings toward Japan & elsewhere in the Pacific Ocean. The highlight of his Navy time occurred when he was able to link up with his father in the Admiralty Islands in 1944. Soon after, father and son boarded their respective ships to liberate the Philippine Islands on Oct 20, 1944, where Alex’s ship was hit by 2 Kamikaze planes. When his ship returned to the States for repair he was able to visit with family & also his sweetheart Vera. They married on Jan 3, 1945. Alex served the rest of the war years aboard his carrier & was honorably discharged on Nov 27, 1945.
In Dec 1947 Alex joined the USAF & served mostly in Bomber Wings, SAC which he loved – doing duties in command posts. He served in several US states as well as Alaska, Greenland, Guam & Japan. He honorably retired from the USAF on May 31, 1966 & settled his family in El Paso, TX. Alex worked with Metropolitan Life Ins Co. retiring in Oct 1985. He loved the outdoors, whether it be fishing or just camping in the woods. Alex & Vera completed 70 years of marriage on Jan 3, 2015. They raised 5 lovely daughters who blessed them with 8 grandchildren & 14 great-grandchildren. He is survived by his beloved wife Vera, daughters Joanna Stadler (Ed) Patricia Smircich (John) Corina Wright, Cissy Heaton (Tim), Diana Schlesinger (Brent), his brother Juan Jr (Jean), sister Delia Eldridge, sister Odilia Snell & many nieces and nephews. One of Alex’s biggest life thrills was the Sept 2014 Utah Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to visit the WWII & other memorials, along with 65 other WWII Veterans and their guardians.
Services will be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 11 am at the Utah Veterans Memorial Park Chapel, 17111 Camp Williams Road, Bluffdale, with a viewing to take place at 10 am. Interment will be in the Utah Veterans Memorial Park. Condolences may be shared with the family at www.murraymemorial.com.