Evaluation of What I Have Learned In English 112

Since this is a mandatory class I needed, it was important to find one that worked into my culinary schedule.  With limited availability my best option was a combined History/English class at the JSR Parham Campus.  Being familiar with the area really paid off with the extra 15 minutes of driving to this class would add to my schedule.  At first it was hard to distinguish whether it was going to be an extension of our History 112 class or not, but it finally started to form into a solid English learning environment. 

English 112 is the research portion of the learning environment.  There are tools that I did not get privy to in my refresher English class, or the English 111 class that I gained in this class environment.  The mixed ages and ethnic diversities that comprised this class really forced you to think out of the box.  Communication and being forced with someone you don’t know makes you either work together, or play with your cell phone and pretend you are working together. Working together allows interaction that is a necessary skill of communication and social development.  One of the skills necessary to work on our research assignment; “Ray Puglia”.  This required lots of notes and was hard to keep within the details of the box.  Once we expanded our research, it opened a boatload full of information that assisted dotting the line to some of the missing pieces.  Mr. Puglia’s life was not boring to say the least.  Now I have a full understanding of the Rhetorical Triangle concept.  Not the audience, message, author, or the noise with all the distractions, but the Ethos, Pathos, & Logos.  We have read much about the world that was never known to me before.  Some of I guessed, but had never seen in writing.  Emotions are best left in the closet about sequestered knowledge unless the “wise ones” did not want us to go ballistic on them earlier in our lives.

The research process became easier, especially for our discussion board in history.  It was very useful to read each one to get an understanding from multiple points of view.  You could tell who read and understood the subject, from those that could not grasp the content.   I have learned that it is sometimes best to stop talking and just listen.  The information gathered can sometimes assist with little details.  I now know how to use a team search blog to annotate your work as you go.

For me to use an undrafted non-corrected draft looks sloppy, so I can say I did not turn autocorrect off.  I still have found words that should not be there, but were!  Read, re-read, and read again.  Movement is acceptable, if it still does not fit, remove it or save to a separate document so that the thought is not lost.  There is a reason why we structure thoughts at certain times.  What point are we trying to make?  I still have trouble with different methods of annotating sources, but I am more aware of the process and more eager to correct.  I still need to make my message for the age group, not just the crowd.  There is a difference with depth of understanding that comes with age. 

I am grateful to have known and be associated with these classmates and the professors.  If I had the option to do this class again, I would.

Self evaluation - draft

Evaluation of What I Have Learned In English 112

 

Since this is a mandatory class I needed, it was important to find one that worked into my culinary schedule.  The only one available was a combined History/English class at Parham Campus.  Another 15 minutes driving, but since I was familiar with the area, what did I have to lose.  At first it was hard to distinguish whether or not it was going to be an extension of our history class or not, but it finally started to form into a solid English learning environment. 

Since this class is the research portion of the learning environment, there were tools that I did not get privy to in my refresher English class, or the English 111 class.  The assignment on Ray Puglia was a great research assignment that was hard to keep within the details of the box.  Once we expanded our research, it opened a boatload full of information that assisted dotting the line to some of the missing pieces.  Rays life was not boring.  I have now a full understanding of the Rhetorical Triangle.  Not the audience, message, author, or the noise with all the distractions, but the Ethos, Pathos, & Logos.  We have read much about the world that was never known to me before.  Some of I guessed, but had never saw in writing.  Emotions are best left in the closet about sequestered knowledge unless the “wise ones” did not want us to go ballistic on them earlier in our lives.  I have learned that it is okay to “agree to disagree” than argue over petty issues.  Stop talking and listen.   I now know how to use a team search blog to annotate your work as you go.  I still need to make my message for the age group, not just the crowd.  There is a difference with depth of understanding that come with age.  We never went into details of body communications, but it can say plenty.  I watch my instructors do it, so we can get a feel on what to expect for the day; Or as Sgt. Friday said “Nothing but the facts”.

The research process became easier, especially for our discussion board in history; it was very useful to read each one to get an understanding from multiple points of view.  You could tell who read and understood the subject from those that could not grasp the content.

For me to use an undrafted non-corrected draft looks sloppy, so I can say I did not turn autocorrect off.  It did not tell me that I did not have to go back and review each paragraph.  I still have found words that should not be there, but they were.  Read, re-read, and read again.  Movement is acceptable.  If it still does not fit it, remove it or save to a separate document so that the thought is not lost.  There is a reason why we structure thoughts at certain times.  What point are we trying to make?  I still have trouble with different methods of annotating sources, but am more aware of the process to do it correctly. 

I am grateful to have known and associated with this class and the professors.  If I had to decide again, I would choose to take this class.

 

My Rhetorical Learning Tree

WOW for all of the notes take during this term.  They actually made sense once I put them together.

This Is My Life

The Major Things Surrounding My Life

I was born 31 December 1954 at Camp Lejeune, NC.  Born a Marine Brat!  The only son surrounded by 5 sisters; 3 older, my twin, and 1 younger.  Boy was I ever in trouble.  Cold war is still going on. Dad is home for our births.  I got the brains; she got the looks.  Nothing to really remember except major surgery at age three (1958) (before shatter glass was used in bathrooms).  One fraction close of severing my jugular vein, live went on. Dad was home then and not stationed overseas.  Marines then sent promoted NCOs somewhere for 6-months after promotions.  Dad seemed to be at Okinawa, or some place in the Pacific Ocean.  Next moment in time is in Topeka, Kansas, age 5 (1960), looking at a F5 tornado as mom is pushing us kids into an underground shelter. Do not remember the move, but we moved to Bartow, California and somewhere along the way we spent time in Newton, Iowa and spent time with grandma and aunts on the farm.  Having to wait to the next school year due to age, this time was without dad during those 6-month periods.  Got the measles and the house was dark until we got over that.  We moved to the country on a small ranch in Hinkley, CA (it is now a PG&E waste site. The movie Erin Brockovich is true.  I lived there.  No money for me until I get cancer.).  We raised chickens, pigs, and Herman our bull.  The next major event was playing king on the haystack and being pushed off and breaking my right leg in a green line fracture.  Every one of the kids thought I was playing wolf and just left me there.  I did manage to crawl some distance of maybe 50 feet before giving up.  Older sisters come home and wonder where I am … out by the cow, playing wolf.  Says his leg hurts.  Needless to say, 3 days in traction, 3 months in casts, and having home school during that time.  When I got that cast off, I ran everywhere I went to.  By age 8, sometimes for the 10-miles trips to visit friends, I rode the bike, but other than that, I ran.

 Ran to school, ran home. Ran in front of my school bus as I had been kicked off (I had an attitude) during the morning, beating it to school. I ran in front of the bus going home twice daily.  This really pissed off the driver. If she went faster, I got faster.  By the end of the 6^th grade, I had gotten pretty fast.  Herman decided he wanted to play rough with dad, so he became food for the freezer.  Dad retired from the Marine Corps in 1963 after being told he had to go back to Okinawa for 6 month if he wanted to be a Sergeant Major or become divorced.  Military life has its tolls. Interesting fact, gasoline was .249 per gallon. Vietnam brought death to the local community and also led to the other brothers to go to Canada as a protest. 

Mom had a heart attack and wanted to be near good doctors, so we moved to San Jose, CA.  Stanford Medical Center was her choice of care.  Middle school was 7^th & 8^th grades.  I got hurt messing around with golf clubs, putting around on the grass.  A friend took a full swing and hit me in the head.  Ouch!  Compressed skull fracture!  Hard headed, it did not knock me out, but did make a mess with all the blood.  EMTs could not do much because parents were not home at the time (after school).  One of my sisters drove me to Moffitt Field AFB to the ER.  Don’t remember much about the ambulance ride to El Camino Real Hospital, but I had come close to death again.  Died during recovery, brought back to learn how to avoid contact and live a life again.  There is no bone in this area.  I have a hole in my skull.  No more contact sports allowed.  At least I can look into a mirror and see if I am alive.  Look for a pulse.

November 1963 was a day I remembered very well.  All the students were wondering … who and why someone would want to kill the President.  Things changed in our thinking as we realized we were going to remember this day for the rest of our lives.  Little did we know of the events that would start to shape our lives!

Jumping through time:  Beatles songs, Wolfman Jack, berlin wall built, JFK moon speech, sputnik launched, Johnny Carson and the Tonight Show, Marilyn Monroe dies, Cassius Clay boxing match, GI Joe figures, Sending US troops to Vietnam. Black Panthers Party, Draft Protests, Star Trek TV series, Super Bowl I, 3 astronauts died on the pad,  MLK killed, My Lai massacre, RFK killed, USS Pueblo captured, Zodiac Killer, Manson Murders, Neil Armstrong lands on the moon, Woodstock concert.  This was the 60’s for me.  The era of Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll.  Haught & Ashberry is still the same today as it was in the 60’s.

Spring 1969, I ran the 7K Bay-to-Breakers race in San Francisco, CA placing 498 out of over 10,000. I still have the certificate to prove it.  Saw Wilt Chamberlin at Candlestick Park as I went by. Not hard to see him above the others.  It was not a political statement as it is today with the naked runners.

June 1970, my dad died in a car accident.  We moved to Salinas, CA, overlooking Half Moon Bay.  Mom died in October from a massive heart attack.  The truth was that she said to my next older sister that she could not go on any longer without dad.  Poof! She was gone.  WHAT A YEAR!!! How I pulled my butt out and did not fail all of my high school is a wonder.  Oh yes, I was still running on track and cross country teams.  Got a mile run time of 4:55 and a 2-mile run of 10:34.  Kind of ran out of steam at this point.

Moved in with my older sister in Barstow, CA and completed High School in 3 years, but still went my senior year (1973), just to piss off the Principal.  Attitudes do not necessarily change with time.  Traded track for tennis.  Won the school cup by beating them all.  Retired my T-1000 racket! I sold it 3 years ago to a sports collector; one less thing to collect dust.

 Jumping time again:  Kent State shootings, MASH TV, Mark Spitz wins gold at Olympics, Munich Terrorists attacks at Olympics, Watergate scandal, Paul Getty kidnapped, US troops come home from Vietnam but with crowds wanting to assault them; No welcome party!, Nixon resigns, Patty Hearst kidnapped, Author Ash wins Wimbledon,  learned about germs that will kill e.g. Ebola virus, Elvis dies, Roots mini-series, 1^st Star Wars movie released,  Jonestown massacre, Iran went religious, Mother Teresa gets Peace Prize, Nuclear accident at Three-Mile Island, and the Walkman.  That was my 70’s.

Became a tax payer to support the nation.  Worked at Vons, and Safeway, moved to Utah and worked in the Space Shuttle Industry from 1977-2010.

Time warp:  John Lennon killed, Mount St. Helens erupts and sends ash for miles, Pac Man released, Rubik’s cube,  Ted Turner creates CNN, Regan shot, Princess Diane wedding, AIDS, PC’s, E.T Movie, Cabbage Patch kids require me to spend$$ for them, Star Wars Space Plan (missile defense), Sally Ride becomes 1^st woman in space (cool person, but opinionated), poisonous gas leak in India, New Coke, Space Shuttle Challenger incident (that hurt, because I knew some on board), Chernobyl Nuclear disaster, US bombs Libya, Mir Space Station, Pan Am Flight 103 bombed (saw plane in Chicago two weeks earlier), Berlin wall falls, Exxon Valdez oil spill and China Tiananmen Square massacre. The 80’s for me.

All during these events, I spent more time in the Florida Space Center or Vandenberg AFB, than in Utah.  The security levels changed with the tides of world order. 

Hubble Telescope, Operation Desert Storm, Rodney King issues, internet, World Trade Center bombed, OJ Simpson trial (if the glove fits, convict), Rwandan genocide, sarin gas attack in Tokyo, Oklahoma City bombing, mad cow disease, Unabomber, Princess Diana car accident, US President impeached and acquitted for not knowing what improper sex was, Y2K, Columbine shootings, USS Cole bombed.  I lost my oldest sister to cancer.  The 90’s and 2000’s were not a blink in time.  It changed us as much as the events of WWII changed that generation.

With all of this going, how did we keep on track and not become paranoid is a wild guess.  On some things, we become agitated and up our guards, but things changed when the two airplanes ran into the World Trade Center – twin towers and they implode.  The Terrorists struck our homeland!  Another ran into the Pentagon and still another was stopped with all lives lost onboard.  America was now involved in a long battle that is still being fought today.  The culprits sought after was Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.  Islamic fundamentalists on a jihad (Goes against the principles in the Quran). The warning was issued that there was no place on this Earth to hide.  We got Saddam Hussein (and all of his deck of cards), Bin Laden, and will continue searching for the others.  I have seen my youngest son deployed three times to Iraq, and am glad to have him home.  He had a close call on one deployment, so it is close to the heart when the news reports say more soldiers have died.  We cannot forget the Space Shuttle Columbia re-entry disaster.  Going green was not a good thing to do for this application.  Foam will not stick to a surface that cannot be cleaned properly so it can adhere.  They are still finding small pieces of debris today.

What makes this time different is the speed of communication and the forms we use.  Cell phones are now mini PC’s.  The main media (NBC, CBS, and ABC) have shown their bias and there are now multiple alternative sources to get the real truths.  Their side, our side, and the truth.  That is the truth!

Economic woes we have seen are how fast the world markets can take investments and crash to nothing in a heartbeat.  I know some that have lost millions in the market.  Housing tied to the market and government ties to give everyone the American Dream, whether or not they can afford it later.  We still have not recovered and it may take another ten years to do so. 
 

  Somewhere in there I raised three children and am not living with my youngest son helping him raise his son.  Got retired at 55 years old.  Went back to school.  Culinary was my ambition.  Started in Colorado Springs, CO and now at 58, collecting my pension, I am 9 classes away from completion of the culinary program.  I have been busy with all of the classes, but sometimes overwhelmed with the term papers and plenty of research.  Whether or not I complete the program, I have met interesting individuals, interacted with educators and enjoyed the ride.

The Surrounding Events of Ray Puglia

It would be hard to say what exactly drove Ray to join the Marine Corps.  I am going to take a guess and from what my aunt (Butler) said was that my dad did not want to be drafted, being a senior in high school, so by enlisting early as a marine, he got his choice of branches.  It was a patriotic thing to do.  The war was going on and those at that age knew it was the right thing to do.  The draft was not really as negative during WWII than what we observed during the Vietnam Era.  There were no one going to Canada and other places to avoid the military.  It was a whole different world than what we see now.  Even with a total volunteer military force of today, the attitude back then was to force you to become a team player so that you instinctly knew what to do without hesitation.  Not the case today.  Today it is an economical decision with education assistance as part of the deal.  What is in it for me attitude?  There are some exceptions for today’s youth, but the youth of the 1940-1950’s were true patriots and were willing to die for their country.  They had a negative attitude towards both Germany and Japan.

America was just peachy keen with everyone home from WWI and trying to regroup as families and communities again, now knowing who did make it back and who did not.  They did not want to get involved with another war anytime soon.  Before we knew what was going on, we had gotten ourselves in a pickle and were waiting for the outcome, however it may be.  The outcome was inevitable, but may have been different if we had allowed some leniency with Japan as we had with Germany.  When you freeze financial accounts, someone is going to be upset.  They were and responded in a manner they thought would provide a timed event that gave them the advantage in the Pacific region.  Either way, Japan needed more commodities than what we would have supplied to them.  We were headed down a path we had been a part of the decision making process.  Even if we had discovered the Japanese fleet earlier, we did not have the superior naval advantage with only two aircraft carriers in the Pacific Fleet.  The Yorktown and Enterprise were not at Hawaii, only by sheer luck or by divine inspiration.  If anyone has been to Pearl Harbor, they will remember seeing the oil seeping out of the USS Arizona, some 50 years later.  It is a sobering experience.  It was just a normal Sunday morning to all there.  The impact of learning that Pearl Harbor had been attacked, unprovoked, and “December 7^th, 1941 … a day that will live in infamy” is what we all learned at an early age.  Propaganda had instilled a negative attitude in soldiers and women that enlisted or were drafted into the armed forces.  City dwellers or farm boys … the message was the same.  Stomp them Nazis! Kill them slant-eyed bastards for what they did!  The whole truth is not learned until a later date when we learn that we had allowed Germany to slowly rebuild its empire and invoked a blockade of commerce and established an oil embargo on Japan as a result of their aggression on China.

The attitudes were the same on all fronts.  Instill attitudes that will keep morale high and promote our best interests.  Japan needed oil and resources in order to survive.  The Allied Powers did not agree with Japan's approach of obtaining these commodities.  (Bentley)  Learning of the brutality and attitudes of the Japanese military actions to both civilian and military captives did not go well with the expected attitudes of our civilized society.  This would incite a riot attitude against the Japanese.  Having learned what atrocities had been committed by the Japanese to the Chinese, the world could say ... Is this any different than the Auschwitz concentration camp of Germany or the Trail of Tears of America?  Russia cannot come out of this unscathed.  It too committed sins against German troops as POWs, especially those leaving Moscow.  Japanese soldiers were instilled to obey the Emperor and become cold hardened killers (Reilly) and considered it a part of their “duty”. To the Japanese soldier, it was the greatest honor to die for the Emperor.  Japanese ground troops or air plane pilots had the same attitudes.  The white scarfs with family member names written on them gave the necessary incentive to give all in a glorious death.  Kamikaze pilots they were called. The death charges with bayonets and/or swords.   Death was more honorable than capture.  It was just the opposite for our troops.  We probably suffered more deaths as prisoners of war (POWs) from the conditions presented.  Germany or Japan; they both were merciless captors.  We do not want to start talking about Vietnam POW's and Russia.

Communication during this time was by three sources: 1) Newspapers, 2) Radio and 3) Theaters/Movies.  The newspapers were censored to only allow what the government wanted you to know, the same for the radio, and the movie clips watched before and during intermission of movies. We were fed no more or less than what we are today, except the media today is more bias towards their own agendas than what was allowed in the 1950’s.  Economic woes impacted everyone leading up to WWII.  It took years to recover from the “Depression” and some never did.  With everyone in everyone else’s pocket, most of the whole world was affected by the crash of Wall Street Market.  Japan saw no other choice than to eliminate the naval threat in Pearl Harbor in order to establish a foothold on the commodities it sought (Bentley) . The sinking of the ship RMS Lusitania by Germany did not go well with either Great Britain or America.  People did not know of the cargo it was carrying was to support the war efforts, but there were so many innocent lives lost.  (Bentley) The same effect was recorded after the Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia accidents.  Public input is most powerful under the right situations.

Even though some women were forced to go and work, in a lot of cases, it was necessary in order to make ends meet.  It was a golden opportunity for some as it provided a job to them.  We see that more today than then when military deployment takes away finances, especially with the reserves.  There were more women that volunteered, which to me is nothing more than slave labor to support the greater good.  For those that did get paid, the money women made was less than half what a man would have to be paid for the same type of work (some employers really did not want the men to return to the work force).  Women had proven their worth during the wars, but most men DID have a problem with women working. There were many marriages that did not survive post WWII.  Ray did not have a problem with that.  Eva was a Naval Medical Officer and had an education to get there.  His new wife Liz worked also.  My dad saw no problem with my mom working.  The income was about $127.00 every 2-weeks.  I remember making $127.00 every week.  You have to pay the bills.  Military retirement pay is about half of active duty pay.  You have to make ends meet in order to survive.

The Cold War meant that Ray was on alert everyday.  Hard to have a life when you are living day-by-day, not knowing what to expect.  North Korea was supported by the Chinese and Russia, South Korea was supported by the US.  Going to Korea was not the issue ... When was!  NATO was born as was the Warsaw Pact to balance the powers to be.  Asia countered with the SEATO.  This was just a pissing match between stubborn men in power, too afraid of the "what if" scenario played out every day.   Someone ordered something to happen, but when the time to be accounted for the commands, no one had the guts to stand up and be truthful.  When the day came, Ray went in support of the United States to defend South Korean territory from North Korean aggression into the DMZ.  It was the communists against everyone else. The final result was the 38th parallel DMZ as it sits today.  We lost many good men during this time and some Ray knew.  They were with him from the beginning of boot camp and AIT.  Ray retired before the end of the Cold War, but saw the downfall of the Berlin Wall.

 

Works Cited

"Chapter 36." Bentley, Jerry H. / Ziegler, Herbertt F. Traditions & Encounters, 5th Ed. Boston, MA: McGrawHill Learning Solutions, 2011. 835-861.

Butler, Deloris. Interview. 10 April 2013.

Rielly, Kevin. "Worlds of History, Vol II." Chang, Iris. The Rape of Nanking. Boston/NY: Bedford/St.Martin's, 2010. 969-973.

 

 

Coversheet & Bib for Ray Puglia

J.Seargent Reynolds Community College

My Observations for the Life of Ray Carmine     Puglia

4/6/2013

Edward Lloyd

HIS 112

 

 

This was a research assignment to view and put together bits and pieces from a military trunk belonging to Ray Carmine Puglia, by observing pictures, postcards, newspaper articles and military campaign medallions/ribbons.

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

http://1stbattalion24thmarines.com/

The Life of Raymond Carmine Puglia

 

There is not much of a childhood or anything to prove his existence before becoming a member of the Marine Corps, 4^th Marine Division, 1^st Battalion, Company D, 24^th Marines.  How can a man that had fought in some of the most horrific campaigns in the Pacific just sort of disappear off the face of the Earth?  The answer is real easy.  Most men that fought in those campaigns never thought they would make it back home after the first skirmish they engaged.  Most of them just wanted to blend back into society without any fanfare or excitement.  Ray was this type of person. 

Trying to recreate his life or the part we can try to understand was difficult at best.  All we had was a military trunk full of memorabilia and some tidbits of information from our instructor, who was the husband of the granddaughter of Mr. Puglia.  I am going to attempt to do justice to what information I saw and put together a recollection as best as I can. So here it goes.

Raymond C. Puglia was born on 10 May, 1915 with black hair, brown eyes and died in 1985 probably at his home in Jacksonville, or Camp Lejeune Hospital in North Carolina at the age of 70.  He was assigned a Social Security Number of 197-10-8732 from North Carolina.  When Ray entered the Marines, he weighed only 145 pounds.  From pictures of him as a PFC, he did not gain any weight during boot camp.  He did however gain muscles.  The pictures clearly indicated that the physical endurance from boot camp paid off with a lean mean fighting machine.  His service number was 389143. After boot camp, he was either sent to Camp Lejeune, NC or Camp Pendleton, CA for additional training.  He was trained to work with the heavy weapons outfit, specializing with both the M109 water cooled machine gun and 81mm mortars.  Upon completion of his advanced training, he was assigned to the 4^th Marine Division, 1^st Battalion, Company D, 24^th Marines. 

Off to the Pacific he went as most did, by boat.  The picture showed how crowded it was with hammocks strung anywhere they could to get a bunk for everyone.  At least with a hung hammock, you avoided the sea motions while you slept.  There was some silver colored metal toilet paper holders found in the box too.  Apparently, they were used to stash cigars.  Marines can be clever when necessary.

He was an avid Catholic.  He had married twice in his life, to Eva and then Elizabeth.  The first wife was Eva Stabler, born February 18, 1894, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  From the picture of her in her younger days, it definitely could be said that she was a hottie.  She was a very good looking woman.  At first look, this seemed to be an older woman with a very young man … in today’s phrasing … A cougar.  Not the case here! 

We cannot ascertain when they were married, but there was a nine-year gap between the two.  Eva was a nurse in the United States Navy Reserves, an officer.  Most likely Eva met when Ray got wounded and received a Purple Heart. 

 

Eva lived in Jacksonville, NC, so it is probable their encounter started at Camp Lejeune Marine Corp Base Hospital or in Hawaii where most injured servicemen in the campaigns went for treatment and therapy.   Eva was involved in the community and in politics.  She had been a member of the Philadelphia, PA Dog Training Club and the Republican Party.  She loved her terrier dogs.  There were quite a few pictures of her dogs.  They had lots of personal friends and kept in touch with them as indicated from the numerous cards and letters we found. They traveled to many places and had taken photos of each other there.  I am sure that the kimonos found in the box were evidence of the little things Ray wanted Eva to have.   She died on April 17, 1969 at the age of 75 and is buried in Arlington Cemetery among the numerous honored there.

 

Ray then married Elizabeth and they were a couple until her death.  Ray married Elizabeth after her husband, Graham Johnson had died.  Eva had a daughter from that marriage.  Not too much to learn from that companionship, except from a newspaper article announcing a reunion of four women that had been friends during most of their lives and got back together one more time.  Elizabeth was nicknamed as Liz throughout the correspondences we found.   But from guessing from the way that he treated Eva, Ray did not want to live his remaining years alone.  Liz worked as a waitress from the information on a punch card.  I hope that their time together was a good companionship.  One of the pictures we encountered was one showing a young woman in a black playboy type bunny suit showing him smiling at her.  Whether it is a birthday or any other occasion, it would put a smile on me too.  His lasting memory from our teacher was seeing him trying to sneak out of the hospital to smoke a cigar with only one lung remaining.  Ray passed on in 1985.

            He was a proud man, proud to have been part of the Marine Corps and serving his country.  He obtained the rank of E-7 or Sergeant First Class, which is considered as a senior enlisted non-commissioned officer (NCO).  The 24^th Marine Division won 2 presidential citations and had President Truman present the citations to them personally as the pictures indicated. Ray earned the Good Conduct Medal in 1945 (4 stars), American Campaign, Asiatic Pacific Campaign (4 stars), World War II, Korea Conflict (4 stars), and National Defense Medals from serving at Roi-Namur, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.  The stars indicate how many campaigns were served within the specific areas.  These places were a real jungle with hot muggy blistering heat, monsoon rains and rugged country worse than anything so far experienced in his life.  After the war, Ray became a cook and supervised the mess hall (kitchen) and on occasion, for special events, more pictures were found to show his involvement there. The one most notable was the 179^th Anniversary of the birth of the Marine Corps in 1954.