BY LORI HAMMELMAN
Staff Writer

The way Guy Bays tells it, he’d traveled more miles by the age of 22 then most people have in a lifetime.
Growing up as a military son, Bays went to eight different schools in several countries before graduating high school in El Paso, Texas. Although he didn’t stay in one place too long, Bays says he wouldn’t trade the experiences for the world.
“The travel time, you can never replace that,” Bays said. “The military lifestyle, you learn to get along. You don’t get attached to a lot of different people…you just learned to move on.”
He talked about some of his favorite places.
“London was pretty cool, kind of different. Heidelberg, Germany…I remember the castles and the Rhine River was nice,” Bays said. “But if there’s one place I could go back to it would be Heidelberg. I was there in 1970.”
Planting roots
Having met an Army buddy from Rochelle, Bays had intended to visit the “Hub City” and eventually move back to Texas.
“I thought I’d spend six months up here, go back to Texas and ride a bike all year round,” Bays laughs. “Here I am 40 years later, got two kids, seven grandkids, retired for five years and I’m not going anywhere.”
For Bays, things have fallen into place quite nicely. First employed at Caron International working in the dyes and chemicals area, briefly at a custom aluminum shop, Bays ended up working for Northern Illinois University for 23 years until his retirement.
He said he was lucky to land on the grounds crew at the college, which consisted on mowing, cutting trees, shoveling snow in the winter.

“Every place I worked at…even in the military…I tried to do my best wherever I was at,” Bays said, sharing his perspective. “When I leave one place and go to another place, I’m looking for something more. I’ve done my time.”
VFW family
First joining the organization in Genoa, Bays became a member of the Rochelle VFW Post 3878 in 2004. Shortly thereafter he was a member of the board as well as positions of Senior Vice four times and Post Commander in 2009 and again in 2013.
Currently trustee for the VFW, Bays also holds a position he takes great pride in as Officer of the Day for the Eastern Lee-Ogle Honor Guard.
As Officer of the Day, Bays’ duty is to phone the 20 or so members of the honor guard following notification of a request for a military funeral. Typically the request comes from the funeral home arranging services for the veteran.
During a military funeral the honor guard will salute and provide three volleys of shots fired in honor of the deceased veteran. Bays is responsible for playing “Taps” on the bugle.
Bays said on average the honor guard performs at 30 funerals a year.

Only natural
Born into a military family it was only natural that Bays joined the U.S. Army — first sent to Fort Polk in Louisiana for boot camp and then two months of AIT (advanced individual training).
After requesting a transfer, Bays had orders to go back to a familiar place — Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas soon followed with orders for Korea.
Bays said Korea at that time was nothing like he knew in the U.S., with houses typically containing a living room, dining room, bedrooms, and maybe a basement.
“Over there they had two-room huts heated with chunks of coal and no beds. Maybe they had a mat,” Bays recalls. “That’s what they grow up with, they’re used to it. They might have a hutch or two with their belongings, but that’s about it. They sat on the floor, there were no tables and chairs.”

Bays admits some of his fellow servicemen had a harder time with it, but he took it all in stride.
“We were the first ones out to find routes. We had Republic of Korea soldiers who trained with us. I became friends with one, and he offered me grasshoppers to eat — he said he caught a bunch of them during the day. That was a pretty cool experience getting to know our counterparts in the Army there,” said Bays.
Bays became sergeant, reflecting the pride of rank.
“When I first came back from Korea, before I went to Ft. Hood, I went to every single fast food joint you could think of and I sent wrappers from each of those sandwiches,’ Bays recalled. “They told me they put them on the bulletin board so they could smell the food from over here.”

Nowadays
“I help at the VFW with the lightning bingo. But right now I’m stepping back to enjoy retirement a little bit more,” Bays said. “I will take a breather for at least a year, enjoy the grandkids.”
Bays and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 33 years and enjoy spending time with their grandchildren ages six months to 20 years old.
Although he is not from Rochelle, Bays said he believes Rochelle is a good place for kids to grow up in. He will take his grandchildren to the park, fishing, or even for a walk or drive. He enjoys doing yard work on their large sized lot.
Bays also visits the elementary schools to teach flag etiquette and during Veterans Day. He also participates in several parades throughout the year.
“My favorite is going to the schools and seeing the kids,” Bays said. “It’s what I give back to the community. Putting the face of the VFW back out into the community. To me it’s important to show them we are giving something back — scholarships, parades, and benefits to help people out when they are in need.”