Jacquelyn Regan's long connection with the military

originated by Stephen D. Regan

Jacquelyn "Jac" Regan has been a member of Waukon’s American Legion Auxiliary for almost 70 years, since her mother, Zonona Wheat, enrolled her due to the enlistment of her father, Dr. Roy H. "Doc" Wheat, at the beginning of World War II. While her father qualified her for membership, Regan’s family affiliation with the military actually dates all the way back to the American Revolution.
Regan's great-great-great-grandfather, John Sargood, left Yorkshire, England in 1774 for reasons unknown, but certainly his sympathies were not with King George III. Four years after settling in the Colonies he joined the 7th regiment of the Maryland militia fighting against his native country. Records with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) indicate that Sargood fought with Washington in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
His service ended in 1780 and he settled in Pennsylvania but eventually moved to Tuscarawas County, OH. For some reason, possibly for religious purposes, he moved to Deep River (then called Dresden) in Poweshiek County in Iowa. The Sargood family was one of the founders of the village and lived there for generations.
Sargood’s son, James, married and started a small family in Ohio. Unfortunately, he died early, leaving his wife with small children. Mrs. Sargood remarried, but her new family and other members of the Sargood family moved to Deep River in Poweshiek County, possibly as an element of a religious sect distantly related to the Amish and Mennonites. A stepfather ultimately raised the oldest son, James Daniel Sargood, but he never forgot his military roots.
When the Civil War commenced, he immediately joined Company K of the 10th Iowa that was formed around young men from Montezuma and Iowa City under Col. Nicholas Perczel. The Iowa 10th fought a horrendous battle at Milliken’s Bend in which they suffered significant casualties, including their commanding officer.
Hardly recovering from that battle, they were engaged in the Battle of Vicksburg and later served with General Sherman in his March Across the South. Young James was wounded during the war and was mustered out in Little Rock in August 1865. Of the original 900 men in the Iowa 10th, 114 were killed in action and many more suffered serious wounds.
Sargood came back to Deep River, married and raised a family, becoming a well-known leader in the tiny village and throughout the county. He and his friend, with the unlikely name of John Smith, often sat on each other’s porch re-telling tales of the war. Smith had lost a leg during the war while fighting with the 102nd Illinois that was organized in Knoxville, IL.
Sargood’s son, Preston, grew up listening to those stories on his porch. He participated in sundry Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) activities and memorials. The GAR was a fraternal group of Civil War military veterans. It was only natural for the son of a war veteran and great-grandson of a Revolutionary War participant to enlist immediately at the opening of the Spanish-American War. After initial training, Preston’s company was sent to Florida for transfer to Cuba; however, the war ended while they were awaiting a ship. Sargood was discharged and returned to Deep River to marry his father’s friend’s daughter, Florence Smith.
Their first child, Zonona, was born in Deep River but went to school in Iowa City when Preston and Florence moved there. While in Iowa City she met and eventually married a young dental student, Roy H. Wheat, who studied at the University of Iowa because his home state of North Dakota did not have a dental college. When he graduated, Dr. and Mrs. Wheat, set up home in Marquette but soon moved to Waukon. Wheat had offices in Waukon, Waterville and Marquette and commuted by train among the towns.
Zonona’s father, Preston, tried to re-enlist during World War I, but his age and marriage status kept him out. Nevertheless, his impact was clearly felt by his daughter and her husband. Dr. Wheat joined the Army Reserves sometime in the 1930s and was commissioned immediately as a medical officer. At the outbreak of World War II, Dr. Wheat, although in his forties at the time, was called to active duty.
Leaving his practice, his wife, and two high school children was difficult, to say nothing of a significant change in income. A First Lieutenant did not make similar salaries as a well-established dentist. Dr. Wheat was stationed at Ft. Polk in Louisiana, where he cared for the teeth of hundreds of Army boots.
While Dr. Wheat was serving in the Army, his son, Harry, joined the Merchant Marines because he was too young for the military. Upon his 18th birthday, Harry enlisted into the Army Air Corps and remained with them until they separated and formed the U.S. Air Force. Harry re-enlisted and spent his career in the military, retiring as an Air Force Master Sergeant in the 1960s.
Among the many Waukon men who served during World War II, Daniel Regan joined the U.S. Navy soon after graduating from high school in 1940 because he could find little work and he wanted to see something of the world other than Allamakee County. He went to boot camp with Les Larson and they were placed in the same company.
One day while Regan was daydreaming, his pal elbowed him and whispered ardently to raise his hand. He did so without thinking and then demanded to know for what he had just volunteered. Corpsman School was the answer. The two soon received orders to San Diego, CA’s famous Balboa Naval Hospital for school.
Still trying to see some foreign lands, Regan requested submarine duty but his boat had already headed to the Pacific without him. Fearing a lengthy stint in San Diego, he looked for other options. One day a sick Marine under his care suggested he transfer to the Marine Corps. He did just that and was assigned to the 9th Marine regiment that recently arrived at Camp Elliott north of San Diego. The Marines were creating a new division, the Third, and separated the 9th regiment from the Second Division to form the nucleus of the new group.
Subsequently, the 9th was ordered to open a new Marine Camp even further up the coast at a place named Camp Pendleton. They marched up dusty roads through fruit groves and small villages to the gates of what was to become the largest Marine facility in the world. Today, those dusty roads are Interstate highways and the villages are all heavily populated suburbs of San Diego.
Regan and the 9th Marines were sent to Guadalcanal and then to New Zealand for additional training. After the First Marine Division successfully controlled Guadalcanal, the Third division including the 9th regiment invaded Bougainville, a hot, steamy, jungle island replete with unclassified insects, fungi, bacteria, snakes and viruses. Illness caused almost as many casualties as the Japanese.
Bougainville was the only battle in the Pacific where the Japanese made an amphibious assault against American forces that were already ashore. Regan also fought at the Liberation of Guam, but he was re-called to the U.S. in late 1944 with other senior Marines to form a new division for the assault on Japan. His old unit, the 9th regiment, was decimated at Iwo Jima.
Upon discharge, Regan came home to enter the Pharmacy School at the University of Iowa. He started dating a Waukon girl who was attending the University of Minnesota, Jacquelyn "Jac" Wheat. Subsequently, they married and started their family while Regan finished Pharmacy School at Drake University.
It is noteworthy that Jac Regan’s father, brother and husband all served in the military during World War II; furthermore, so did her several brothers-in-law, including Reg O’Malley, Jim Lyons and Don Regan. Another brother-in-law, Dick Takin, was in the Army during the Korean War. All these men influenced their children, of whom many served during the Vietnam War, including her son, Stephen, a Cryptologic Technician.
Her nephew, Lt. Joe Cunningham, USPHS, and his wife, Lt. Mary Schuster, USN, came back to Waukon at the end of their tours of duty. The Cunninghams joined the Regans as partners in Regan Pharmacy in Waukon. Upon Dan Regan’s retirement, Joe Cunningham purchased the business and moved it to the old Schultz Brothers building on Main Street. He later sold his store to Hartig USA.
Doc and Zonona Wheat became extraordinarily active in veterans affairs, especially through the American Legion. Doc held virtually every office in the Iowa Department of the Legion, including commander of the local chapter, district commander, and state vice-commander. He was defeated in the election for state commander. Ultimately, he received various awards including a life membership in the American Legion. Upon his death, Zonona Wheat received condolences from President Gerald Ford.
Zonona Wheat also was active in the American Legion Auxiliary. She, too, occupied virtually all offices at the local, district and state level. Unlike her husband, she did win election as Iowa Legion Auxiliary president. For a year she drove around the state giving talks, participating in radio and TV talk shows, and attending meetings. She drove over 100,000 miles in Iowa her presidential year. She donated both Preston Sargood’s and Dr. Wheat’s flags to the Waukon Veterans organization for use on the Avenue of the Flags.
Jac Regan can quietly look across her family’s history with great pride. An early ancestor fought with George Washington at the very birth of this nation, two great-grandparents volunteered and served in the Civil War, her grandfather served during the Spanish-American War, and her immediate family served in World War II and the Vietnam War. She flies her American flag each Veterans Day knowing that it is her responsibility passed down through many generations.
"They were certainly proud of their country and wanted to serve it as best they could," Jac commented in regard to her family's long history of military service. "Obviously, they all felt it was the right thing to do, and I am certainly proud of their service."