Estle Conaway

Birthplace: Athol, KS

Branch of Service: Army

Unit: 108th Infantry, 40th Division

Theater of Operation: Pacific

Enlisted / Commissioned: May 10, 1944

Discharged: Apr 10, 1946

Honored By: The Conaway Family

Two Athol, Kansas boys, Bud Conaway and his cousin, Lloyd Conaway, were inducted into the Army on May 10, 1944 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. They remained together throughout basic training in Texas. Bud’s duties with the 108th Infantry, 40th Division were to drive a light truck and transport military personnel, equipment and materials. He served as a truck master of 12 vehicles, with responsibilities for their lubrication and maintenance. He was also trained as a machine gunner crewman. On the eve of the deployment from Fort Hood, Texas to the Eastern Theater, Bud sustained a severe broken ankle. He remained behind to recover from the ankle injury for about 8 weeks before deployment to the Philippines on March 6, 1945. Bud was transported from Manila, Philippines to Seattle, Washington aboard the USS Eltinge. He was discharged from active duty at Fort Douglas, Utah, on April 10, 1946. Both Bud and Lloyd survived the war to return to their hometown of Athol, Kansas and continue on as farmers. Within a few years of discharge from the Army, Bud become the Smith County Massey Ferguson dealer and Ford auto dealer. In the last decades of his life, he owned and operated a crop dusting business known as Ag Care by Air. He was always a farmer at heart and generally listed ‘farmer’ as his occupation throughout life.