Roy Dunscomb Gregory was born on April 16, 1910, in Lovington, Moultrie County, Illinois. He was the son of Charles A. Gregory. He was a West Point graduate, class of 1933. Before the war, he was stationed at various posts across the United States, including Fort Lincoln, North Dakota, and was deployed to the Philippines in 1939. He served in Headquarters, Visayan-Mindanao Force, as a Lieutenant Colonel during World War II.

Gregory was captured by Japanese forces following the fall of the Philippines and became a prisoner of war at PW Camp #2 in Davao, Mindanao. On October 24, 1944, he was among the American POWs being transported from Manila to Japan aboard the Arisan Maru, one of Japan’s infamous “hell ships.” The unmarked freighter was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Shark, unaware that it carried U.S. prisoners. LTC Gregory was killed in the sinking of the Arisan Maru.

LTC Gregory's name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines.

Silver Star Citation:
(Citation Needed) – SYNOPSIS: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Lieutenant Colonel (Infantry) Roy Dunscomb Gregory (ASN: 0-19257), United States Army, for gallantry In action while serving with Headquarters, 45th Infantry Regiment (Philippine Scouts), in action against the enemy in the defense of Bataan, Luzon, Philippine Islands, in 1942. The gallant actions and dedicated devotion to duty demonstrated by Lieutenant Colonel Gregory, without regard for his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, valor.militarytimes.com