The beloved boy from the 1939 diary didn't choose to disappear—the world taught him it was the only way to survive. In 1942, fifteen-year-old Roy watches his brothers prepare for military service while his cleft palate and flat feet earn him a 4-F classification: medically unfit. Three generations of Skoog men had proved their American worth through military service, but Roy breaks the family tradition. This rejection cuts deep, but it's just the beginning. At church—the one place where his loving family, adoring classmates, and respectful coworkers could communicate with him perfectly—certain men choose to make his speech impediment a source of entertainment. Dad gets excluded from leadership roles not because he can't communicate, but because these men choose not to listen. This episode excavates how rejection accumulates like sediment, teaching a naturally confident, charismatic child that his voice is a liability. We see how Dad learns survival strategies: prove worth through work instead of words, lead through example instead of speech, be useful without being noticeable. The farm becomes his refuge where animals don't judge, work becomes his language of worth, and that famous reliability transforms from personality trait to survival strategy.