M Raymond James - Obituary

n Sunday, January 27, 2013; the beloved husband of Shirley A. James; father of Dennis R. and Karen P. James. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and friends. Msgt. James was a Pearl Harbor Survivor and flew 60 missions in the European Theater during WWII. A Life Celebration will be held on Monday, September 23, 2013 from 10:30am until time of the Memorial Service at 11:30 am at the GEORGE P. KALAS FUNERAL HOME, 6160 Oxon Hill Rd., Oxon Hill, MD. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery with military honors at 2pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to one's favorite veteran's charity in his memory. Obituary Raymond Frederick James was born on February 27, 1921 in Fairview, WV. He was one of six children. Fourteen years later the family moved to Gilmore, MD. Ray enlisted in the Army Air Corps in April 1939 and was sent to Ft. Slocum, NY for basic training. Following basic training he was transferred to Wheeler Field, HI and traveled via ship, the USS Republic, through the Panama Canal to San Francisco where he saw the World’s Fair. Following Wheeler Field his next assignment was at Hickam Field in Hawaii. On December 7, 1941, he was in charge of quarters at Hickam when the attack on Pearl Harbor began. The air crews ran down the flight line trying to save the aircraft but they were already too badly damaged. After the attack, the main focus was getting the aircraft ready to fly. Ray’s unit, the 58th Bomb Squadron was the first to get 3 aircraft loaded with bombs and ammunition permitting them to search for the enemy aircraft carriers. After returning to the states in 1944, he trained on B-26s and was then transferred to Sardinia, Italy. He flew 60 combat missions over Italy, Germany and France and was due to rotate back to the states when the war in Europe ended. Ray received many awards, including the Air Medal with 8 Oak Leaf Clusters. Ray met and married his wife Shirley at Bowling Field where their son Dennis Robert was born in 1950. Karen Patricia was born 11 years later in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia while Ray was on a three year special assignment. Ray served a year in Vietnam and retired from the Air Force in July 1966. After his retirement, he worked at the Library Of Congress. After he retired from the Library Of Congress, he developed a passion for racquet ball which became a very important part of his life. He will be missed and remembered fondly by everyone.