raymond

Raymond Alvin Booth, my uncle, is pictured below in a casual pose during World War II. He proudly served as a scout for General Patton's armored divivions in the relief of Bastogne and the push toward the Rhine.

Raymond was a recent graduate of Manlius Military School, Manlius, New York, and entered the army as a young man of 17.......While serving under Gen. Patton, one of his orders was to drive his jeep across a bridge to 'clear it' of mines so that tanks could pass through unscathed. Two jeeps before his had encountered mines while driving on the bridge, which they triggered, and were either destroyed or incapacitated.....Raymond's jeep was the third to attempt the crossing, and his jeep, too, kicked up a mine, which skidded away, and didn't explode, apparently because the triggering mechanism was frozen.

After the war ended, Ray returned home to Groton, New York, and enrolled in Cornell University's School of Industrial Labor and Relations, graduated and then earned a law degree and worked as counselor for Union Carbide. He married, lived in Ohio, then Wisconsin where he raised 4 great kids, who loved their father. Ray passed away a few years ago, and while the war had a tremendous affect on him, as it did most vets, he only spoke with us about it at his mother's funeral, and shared with us a few tales of his war time experiences. Uncle Raymond, I miss you. Thank you for all you did.