Veterans: Leonard Roslansky Tribute
Leonard Wilbur Roslansky One of a series of stories submitted by Brandie Radigan, VFW Auxiliary, as we approach Veterans' Day Answe...

Leonard Wilbur Roslansky
One of a series of stories submitted by Brandie Radigan, VFW Auxiliary, as we approach Veterans' Day
Answering the Call to Duty during the Korean War
By Nolan Roslansky
Veterans are a safeguard to freedom in the United States. It is dutiful to honor these valiant men who defended the U.S. in its time of need. Today, I am proud to write about my grandfather, Leonard Wilbur Roslansky, who served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War.
Roslansky was born November 7, 1931 and was raised in a small farming community in Jackson County, Minnesota. In 1951, he volunteered in order to fulfill the local draft quota. Roslansky left on a train for army training on a bitter cold day (the temperature registered twenty degrees below zero when his train departed) and went on to become a private in the Minnesota National Guard First Battalion 125th Field Artillery after receiving his training at Camp Rucker, Alabama.
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950. The U.S. was fighting the North Koreans to prevent the spread of communism. The fighting had gotten so intense there a year later in 1951 that each county in Minnesota had mandatory draft quotas to help support the war effort in Korea. Men throughout Minnesota, like Roslansky, volunteered to help fill their respective counties' draft quotas.
After volunteering, Roslansky was frugal with the money he earned in the army. He sent most of his money back home to Minnesota via Western Union leaving him very little for personal spending. Roslansky knew poverty, being the oldest son of eight children and he felt obligated to help his family and younger siblings with his military pay. However, he was good at cards and was able to earn a little spending money by winning card games against his fellow soldiers. Roslansky was also familiar with everyone in his battery, since they were all from Jackson County, Minnesota.
During the war, the 125th sent replacements overseas to Korea, so they drew straws to see who would stay on base and cook in the U.S. and who would go overseas and fight in Korea. As the Minnesota National Guard observed about the 125th:
“The unit was ordered into an active Federal service January 16, 1951 for the Korean War. The unit served as a training battalion at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Many of its members saw action in the Korean War as replacements at Camp Rucker, Alabama. Many of its members saw action in the Korean War as replacements for units in Korea… In the latter part of 1952, the unit began to demobilize. The unit was released from active duty on December 2, 1954.”
Roslansky drew a short straw, meaning he got to stay and cook for the other recruits in the U.S.. By the time Roslansky was eligible to go overseas The Korean Armistice Agreement had been signed on July 27, 1953 ending hostilities in the Korean War. After this treaty was signed the remaining soldiers from the 125th, who had not drawn short straws, such as Roslansky, did not go overseas to Korea and remained in non-combatant roles in the U.S..
After Roslansky was discharged from the army, he helped out at his local American Legion, in Jackson County, volunteering there regularly. At dance held by the American Legion he met his future wife Marilyn where she asked Roslansky for a dance and after that moment Roslansky and Marilyn fell in love and were married not long afterwards. Although Roslansky was not a combat veteran, he was still a veteran during wartime. Roslansky died on April 21, 1987. During his life he had all the qualities that a veteran should have: discipline, strong work ethic and patriotism. I respect and honor my grandfather Roslansky for stepping up and filling his county’s draft quota, even though he did not have to.
Further Reading
1. Roslansky, J. (2024, October 24). Personal communication.
2. FamilySearch. (n.d.). Leonard Wilbur Roslansky (1931-1988).https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/GHPQ-3MP/leonard-wilbur-roslansky-1931-1988
3. Minnesota National Guard. (2021). History of the 125th Field Artillery. https://minnesotanationalguard.ng.mil/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/125th-field-artillery-history.pdf
What It Took
By Abigail Nagengast