Arlyss Bolich and Captain “Sonny” Llewellyn
Arlyss Nadine Llewellyn Bolich and Captain Elmer Fred “Sonny” Llewellyn
Arlyss Bolich was a 3rd generation Missoulian born to Mayme Josephine Jameison and Elmer Henry Llewellyn in 1927. Her grandparents operated the Daly Addition Store on South 7th Street in Missoula. She was a 1945 MCHS graduate and was a lifelong Missoulian. She and her husband John ran a market on S. 10th Street in Missoula called Bolich’s A&J Market beginning in 1961. She was active politically in the Missoula Republican Party. She worked tirelessly to secure the freedom of her brother “Sonny” when he was taken prisoner during the Korean War. Arlyss was also an avid U of M Grizzly fan. When U of M basketball star Michael Ray Richardson came to Missoula in 2001 for a Hall of Fame Banquet he remembered Arlyss Bolich fondly. “She was the No. 1 Grizzly booster when I was here,” Richardson said. Arlyss died in Missoula November 29, 2010.
Arlyss’ brother Elmer “Sonny” was born in Missoula in 1925 and was a 1943 MCHS graduate. While at MCHS he was an all-state football player and member of a state championship team. Right out of high school he entered the U.S. Air Force during WWII where he was a navigator on B-17’s in Europe. Coming back to Missoula after WW II he attended U of M where he played football for the Grizzlies, but, as a member of the reserves, he was recalled to active duty with the outbreak of the Korean War. In 1953 he was flying in a B-29 Superfortress over North Korea when his plane was shot down and, after parachuting with several other survivors, he was captured by North Korean soldiers. Shortly after their capture they were transported to China and held prisoner there, accused of being spies. Thus began Sonny’s long ordeal as a Chinese POW which involved 32 months of captivity and mistreatment at the hands of his captors. He was held in solitary confinement for over a year, interrogated and then put on trial as an American spy. Sonny was released on August 1, 1955, coming home a war hero.
In an article about him following his death, Vince Devlin, Missoulian reporter, on May 25, 2009, wrote that he was able to locate and interview a fellow member of Sonny’s crew. Sonny’s friend and fellow prisoner, Steve Kiba, provided Devlin with a unique view of Sonny’s journey with a lot of specific detail. Kiba recalled enough information to allow him to write an account of the incident titled The Flag, which was published in 2004 and is currently available from various outlets. Kiba spent time in Missoula with Llewellyn and even attended U of M for a while. A link to Devlin’s article appears below.
Sonny returned to Missoula after his release and finished with a degree at U of M in 1957. He went on to run several businesses in Missoula and spent the rest of his life there. He died May 11, 2009.
Arlyss Bolich Missoulian obituary link below:
Elmer Fred “Sonny” Llewellyn Missoulian obituary link below:
A link to Vince Devlin’s Missoulian article about “Sonny” Llewellyn appears below: