Military Dog Tag Serial # RA18146044 - Virgil Levonne Prince was born in a shotgun house in Rosboro, Arkansas to Mabel Rose Prince and Carl Tatum Prince. His birth date was August 26, 1925. He grew up in Arkansas and had 4 siblings, a brother, L.B. Prince, a brother Bobby Ray Prince, another brother Geral Wayne Prince and a sister Nina Juanita Prince. He grew up, as do most southern children, wild as the wind, and ready to do some damage to anybody who dared buck him or his family. Unfortunately, there are not too many photos of him during his growing up period, at least that anybody has shared with me, the writer. I'm not sure if it was simply because the family couldn't afford the luxury of taking photos, or because they were opposed to sharing their lives with others, or perhaps because they were just lost. In 1947 Virgil married Dolores Olson who was first from Kansas City, Kansas, and who moved with her family to Northern California sometime around 1940. Virgil enlisted into the U.S. Army with two of his brothers, (that I know of) Uncle Bobby and Uncle Geral Wayne. I never did hear anything about Uncle L.B. joining up but it is possible. At one time, as the story goes, Uncle Bobby and Papa Virgil were stationed together at the same base where Elvis Presley was inducted and they rubbed elbows with him. With Dolores he had first Sharon Levonne at Fort Smith, AR in 1949, then Virgil Wayne at Fort Riley, KA in 1950, then Ronald Ray at Camp Chaffee, AR in 1951, then David Allen at Camp Chaffee, AR in 1952 and lastly yours truly, Michael Edward at Fort MacArthur, CA in 1953. During this marriage Virgil was in and out of the marriage home as the Army took him many places including Korea for that conflict. At one point he was wounded in action and took on shrapnel. He told us all that he had a metal plate put inside his head. Some said it was a frontal lobotomy. Virgil's marriage with Dolores ended in a nasty divorce, probably due to his heavy drinking and her fear for her life and the lives of us kids. After the divorce we were all split up and put in foster homes and later adopted out, all except for Ronald Ray and Sharon Levonne who grew up with our mother, Dolores. Wayne and I were adopted together by the Grays and our brother David was adopted by Stella Gray's cousin, Mildred Watts Taylor and her husband Les Taylor. Virgil re-married soon after to a woman, Audrey S. Bogard, who was widowed with 6 children. He raised those 6 children just as if they were his own. Together Virgil and Audrey had 4 more children together, Gloria, Carol, Christopher and Patrick. Poor little Patrick was born with Down Syndrome and passed away only a few short years after he was born.
When I was about 12 years old I was playing with some kids in Redondo Beach and one of them came to me and told me that the man in the car, across the street, wanted to talk to me, so I walked over and through his car window he told me "I am your father" which came as quite a shock beacause at that time I hadn't been told I was adopted. Anyway I hightailed it to our house and he followed me and came up to the door. He was intoxicated and our adoptive mother called the police and they took him away. I never saw him again until I was about 20 years old. He told me that his occupation, in the army and then into his civilian life was that of a Chef. By the time I went to Oklahoma to see him he was quite ill with emphysema, on oxygen all through the night, and he didn't last much longer. In 1977 I called him and my step brother, Tommy Bogard answered the phone. I asked him how Papa was and he replied "Michael, didn't anybody tell you? We buried him last week." It turns out he went into respiratory distress at his home in Claremore, OK and Audrey got him into the family car but by the time she got him to the V.A. Hospital in Muskogee, OK he had passed away.
When I was about 12 years old I was playing with some kids in Redondo Beach and one of them came to me and told me that the man in the car, across the street, wanted to talk to me, so I walked over and through his car window he told me "I am your father" which came as quite a shock beacause at that time I hadn't been told I was adopted. Anyway I hightailed it to our house and he followed me and came up to the door. He was intoxicated and our adoptive mother called the police and they took him away. I never saw him again until I was about 20 years old. He told me that his occupation, in the army and then into his civilian life was that of a Chef. By the time I went to Oklahoma to see him he was quite ill with emphysema, on oxygen all through the night, and he didn't last much longer. In 1977 I called him and my step brother, Tommy Bogard answered the phone. I asked him how Papa was and he replied "Michael, didn't anybody tell you? We buried him last week." It turns out he went into respiratory distress at his home in Claremore, OK and Audrey got him into the family car but by the time she got him to the V.A. Hospital in Muskogee, OK he had passed away.
Military Dog Tag Serial # RA18146044 - Virgil Levonne Prince was born in a shotgun house in Rosboro, Arkansas to Mabel Rose Prince and Carl Tatum Prince. His birth date was August 26, 1925. He grew up in Arkansas and had 4 siblings, a brother, L.B. Prince, a brother Bobby Ray Prince, another brother Geral Wayne Prince and a sister Nina Juanita Prince. He grew up, as do most southern children, wild as the wind, and ready to do some damage to anybody who dared buck him or his family. Unfortunately, there are not too many photos of him during his growing up period, at least that anybody has shared with me, the writer. I'm not sure if it was simply because the family couldn't afford the luxury of taking photos, or because they were opposed to sharing their lives with others, or perhaps because they were just lost. In 1947 Virgil married Dolores Olson who was first from Kansas City, Kansas, and who moved with her family to Northern California sometime around 1940. Virgil enlisted into the U.S. Army with two of his brothers, (that I know of) Uncle Bobby and Uncle Geral Wayne. I never did hear anything about Uncle L.B. joining up but it is possible. At one time, as the story goes, Uncle Bobby and Papa Virgil were stationed together at the same base where Elvis Presley was inducted and they rubbed elbows with him. With Dolores he had first Sharon Levonne at Fort Smith, AR in 1949, then Virgil Wayne at Fort Riley, KA in 1950, then Ronald Ray at Camp Chaffee, AR in 1951, then David Allen at Camp Chaffee, AR in 1952 and lastly yours truly, Michael Edward at Fort MacArthur, CA in 1953. During this marriage Virgil was in and out of the marriage home as the Army took him many places including Korea for that conflict. At one point he was wounded in action and took on shrapnel. He told us all that he had a metal plate put inside his head. Some said it was a frontal lobotomy. Virgil's marriage with Dolores ended in a nasty divorce, probably due to his heavy drinking and her fear for her life and the lives of us kids. After the divorce we were all split up and put in foster homes and later adopted out, all except for Ronald Ray and Sharon Levonne who grew up with our mother, Dolores. Wayne and I were adopted together by the Grays and our brother David was adopted by Stella Gray's cousin, Mildred Watts Taylor and her husband Les Taylor. Virgil re-married soon after to a woman, Audrey S. Bogard, who was widowed with 6 children. He raised those 6 children just as if they were his own. Together Virgil and Audrey had 4 more children together, Gloria, Carol, Christopher and Patrick. Poor little Patrick was born with Down Syndrome and passed away only a few short years after he was born.
When I was about 12 years old I was playing with some kids in Redondo Beach and one of them came to me and told me that the man in the car, across the street, wanted to talk to me, so I walked over and through his car window he told me "I am your father" which came as quite a shock beacause at that time I hadn't been told I was adopted. Anyway I hightailed it to our house and he followed me and came up to the door. He was intoxicated and our adoptive mother called the police and they took him away. I never saw him again until I was about 20 years old. He told me that his occupation, in the army and then into his civilian life was that of a Chef. By the time I went to Oklahoma to see him he was quite ill with emphysema, on oxygen all through the night, and he didn't last much longer. In 1977 I called him and my step brother, Tommy Bogard answered the phone. I asked him how Papa was and he replied "Michael, didn't anybody tell you? We buried him last week." It turns out he went into respiratory distress at his home in Claremore, OK and Audrey got him into the family car but by the time she got him to the V.A. Hospital in Muskogee, OK he had passed away.
When I was about 12 years old I was playing with some kids in Redondo Beach and one of them came to me and told me that the man in the car, across the street, wanted to talk to me, so I walked over and through his car window he told me "I am your father" which came as quite a shock beacause at that time I hadn't been told I was adopted. Anyway I hightailed it to our house and he followed me and came up to the door. He was intoxicated and our adoptive mother called the police and they took him away. I never saw him again until I was about 20 years old. He told me that his occupation, in the army and then into his civilian life was that of a Chef. By the time I went to Oklahoma to see him he was quite ill with emphysema, on oxygen all through the night, and he didn't last much longer. In 1977 I called him and my step brother, Tommy Bogard answered the phone. I asked him how Papa was and he replied "Michael, didn't anybody tell you? We buried him last week." It turns out he went into respiratory distress at his home in Claremore, OK and Audrey got him into the family car but by the time she got him to the V.A. Hospital in Muskogee, OK he had passed away.
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