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by Ray Hamilton, Cordele Dispatch

 

Another Veterans Day has come and gone. The days come and go so fast that many people can’t remember what they had for dinner last night. It’s just the nature of things. One could be forgiven if things sometimes “slip your mind”. It’s because of these times that everyone should be reminded of the sacrifices that have been made by those came before us. They say nothing happens in Cordele, and nothing’s gonna happen. While this may be true, one thing is certain. Good men are made by the community in which they were raised, and Ronald Ray is one of those men.

Ronald Ray was born December 7^th 1941. That was the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and our involvement in WWII was sealed. He was one of five bothers, three of whom served in the military. Ray enlisted in 1959 right after high school. He served honorably in Special Forces as an enlisted man. He was uniquely gifted in many areas. He was Ranger qualified, HALO qualified among many other skills. His commanding officer was so impressed with him that he recommended that Ray attend Officer Candidate School. Upon graduation he became a commissioned officer.

His time overseas was also filled with more exemplary behavior. Lieutenant Ray was given orders to report to Viet Nam June 1966. Ray led a platoon in Company A of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Shortly after Ray’s arrival in country, his company took part in an operation in the Ia Drang Valley to cut off Viet Cong (VC) forces entering South Vietnam from Cambodia. His company commander had split the unit into two parts ordering Ray’s platoon to cover a wide area where enemy troops might try to infiltrate. Ray located a knoll and set up a command post. He then established listening posts throughout the large area his platoon was tasked with covering. On June 19, one of these listening posts came under intense fire from a company-sized VC force and that listening post was cut off from the rest of the platoon. Lieutenant Ray radioed his company commander and requested reinforcements. After learning that there were no units nearby therefore no reinforcements were available from his company commander. Ray then gathered the rest of his platoon and set off through one mile of dense jungle to rescue the ten men in the besieged post with his soldiers throwing grenades and firing in “small, frequent bursts” to make themselves appear like a larger force. The ruse worked for a time but the North Vietnamese quickly regrouped and began to move in a frontal assault on the besieged unit.

Ray directed his soldiers in the defense of their post as the VC force regrouped and resumed the attack. When a squad sent out to destroy a hostile machine gun nest became pinned down, Ray stormed the emplacement himself, killing the four gunners with his grenades and shotgun. He then rescued a medic and a wounded man who had come under intense fire by silencing the hostile position with a grenade. As a VC grenade landed near two of his soldiers, Ray shielded them with his body, suffering shrapnel wounds to his legs and feet. Immediately after, he was shot in the legs by a machine gun, which he then destroyed with his last grenade. Although his lower body was momentarily paralyzed by his injuries, Ray continued to lead the platoon until a lull in the fighting allowed them to withdraw. He intended to stay behind and provide covering fire, but his sergeant carried him to the extraction point after the rest of the unit had escaped

 Ray was evacuated to Pleiku and then Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he received medical treatment for the next six months. He was promoted to Captain and by 1970 was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. On May 14, 1970, President Richard Nixon formally presented Ray with the Medal of Honor for his actions in the Ia Drang Valley. Ray retired from the Army for medical reasons in 1980 as a lieutenant colonel, having served a total of three tours in Vietnam. He also served as an Assistant Secretary for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs from 1989 to 1993.

Here is the citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Ray distinguished himself while serving as a platoon leader with Company A. Capt. Ray organized a reaction force and quickly moved through two kilometers of mountainous jungle terrain to the contact area when one of his ambush patrols was attacked by an estimated reinforced Viet Cong company. After breaking through the hostile lines to reach the beleaguered patrol, Capt. Ray began directing the reinforcement of the site. When an enemy position pinned down three of his men with a heavy volume of automatic-weapons fire, he silenced the emplacement with a grenade and killed four Viet Cong with his rifle fire. As medics were moving a casualty toward a sheltered position, they began receiving intense hostile fire. While directing suppressive fire on the enemy position, Capt. Ray moved close enough to silence the enemy with a grenade. A few moments later Capt. Ray saw an enemy grenade land, unnoticed, near two of his men. Without hesitation or regard for his safety he dove between the grenade and the men, thus shielding them from the explosion while receiving wounds in his exposed feet and legs. He immediately sustained additional wounds in his legs from an enemy machine gun, but nevertheless he silenced the emplacement with another grenade. Although suffering great pain from his wounds, Capt. Ray continued to direct his men, providing the outstanding courage and leadership they vitally needed, and prevented their annihilation by successfully leading them from their surrounded position. Only after assuring that his platoon was no longer in immediate danger did he allow himself to be evacuated for medical treatment. By his gallantry at the risk of his life in the highest traditions of the military service, Capt. Ray has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Ray is a hero by any definition. He is also Cordele’s favorite son. Thank you Colonel Ray.