Korea 4 June 1951. Corky Wray jumped with his 5th Ranger Company buddies into North Korea and was killed not long after hitting the ground. He was an only son. Corky had a great personality, always laughing and being goofy. He used to pick me up and ride me around on his tall shoulders, and sometimes let me ride with him on his paint horse. He never had a chance to do any of the things I did as an adult, but he was passionate about his country.
I just watched a video of an old guy who raises a casket flag from a different KIA each day from Memorial Day to mid October. It was touching, and I thought “I wonder what happened to my cousin’s flag after my aunt Greta died?” No matter. Nearly 61years later I remember Corky well, and in the way that adults think about their childhood years I still miss him. Maybe the shock of his death and the life-changing affect it had on Aunt Greta was part of the reason why I resisted the draft.
Ranger John G. Wray is buried in Wymore, Nebraska near his mother. If you ever get out that way, look him up and say “Hi” from me.
Image: http://www.ricarangers.org/images/05th/KIA/WrayJohnG.jpg
KIA/MIA/POW information: http://www.ricarangers.org/kiamiapow.htm
I just watched a video of an old guy who raises a casket flag from a different KIA each day from Memorial Day to mid October. It was touching, and I thought “I wonder what happened to my cousin’s flag after my aunt Greta died?” No matter. Nearly 61years later I remember Corky well, and in the way that adults think about their childhood years I still miss him. Maybe the shock of his death and the life-changing affect it had on Aunt Greta was part of the reason why I resisted the draft.
Ranger John G. Wray is buried in Wymore, Nebraska near his mother. If you ever get out that way, look him up and say “Hi” from me.
Image: http://www.ricarangers.org/images/05th/KIA/WrayJohnG.jpg
KIA/MIA/POW information: http://www.ricarangers.org/kiamiapow.htm
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1 comment:
Woody, I totally relate. I think I told you about my cousin, Mike, who had served in most of the conflicts of the 1990s, who was later killed in a training exercise. I also recall the impact it had on my aunt, who herself died within a year following Mike's death. Mike was about 12 years older than me, but I will forever recall him with (what I imagine to be) a very similar sentiment to the way you recall your respective cousin. Cheers to you, and to Corky - a fallen but not "Forgotten" hero of the Korean conflict.
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