With his identical twin brother, Ray, Roy was born in Shelby County, Texas. Roy and Ray enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on April 1, 1941. As platoon sergeants in the 9^th Regiment, Third Marine Division, they saw action on Bougainville, then Guam, where Ray was killed in action, earning a Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry. Roy later transferred to the Second Marine Division and served on Iheya Shima then on Okinawa with two other brothers, Beaman and Neuman. There, he witnessed the death of Lt. General Simon Buckner, commander of the 10^th U.S. Army and a distant relative. Roy, who earned a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement and "coolness under fire," ended his service in late 1945 as a sergeant. After the war, he and his brothers owned car lots in Shreveport.