Ray enlisted in the US Navy at the age of 17. He was inducted on March 14, 1944.
His duty included the maintenance of the ship and was eventually promoted to the rank of SK2C.
While in the Navy, Ray participated in the campaign off the Aleutian Islands. These islands were part of the Alaskan chain which was a territory of the US at the time. It was of an important strategic value to the US because of its proximity to the shipping routes of the North Pacific.
The Japanese also realized this early in the war when they invaded the islands of Kiska and Attu.
Ray’s ship patrolled the areas around these islands. Once his ship was put on full alert to check out an unknown force that was approaching out of the dense fog. The fog and generally bad weather that was a part of the Aleutians hampered vision of the ships lookouts. This time the force turned out to be American much to the relief of Ray’s crew.
Ray was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific campaign medal, Navy Occupation and National Defense service medal.
He was discharged from the Navy on November 23, 1947.
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