John Rex Kay was born April 4, 1913 at St. John (Stafford County), Kansas to John B. and Lelia Dell Webber DeSelms Kay. He married Juliette Martin on December 28, 1938 at Newton, Kansas, with whom he had two sons. Kay was inducted into the U.S. Army at the rank of Private on November 19, 1943 at Newton (Harvey County), Kansas and entered active service December 10, 1943. His basic training was at Camp Callan, California in radio communications, after which he was stationed in Texas at Camp Hulen and Camp Maxie, and then at Fort Meade, Maryland. For eight months of 1945, he served with the 157th Infantry in France and Germany. In the early spring of 1945, Kay received a combat wound for which he received the Purple Heart in May 1945. In late April, he participated in the liberation of concentration camp prisoners at Dachau, Germany, and afterward served with General George S. Patton's Third Army. Kay was discharged from service on November 4, 1945, and reunited with his wife and sons in Newton, Kansas.
From the guide to the "Private John Rex Kay letters home, 1943-1945; the conclusion of World War II in Europe, " collected and transcribed by Mary Fort Hamill and Nancy Fort Dahl, 1994, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)
