Marines,
It is with great sadness that I write to inform you of the passing of another one of our brothers. Ray Vondracek was a young Corporal who found himself in the battles of Saipan, Okinawa, and Tinian and later made his way to Nagasaki, Japan after the bombing. He was a demolition man and saw a lot of combat in that theater, as did most.
My father started the Honor Flights in Nebraska which Ray attended, as well as a trip to see the Marine museum in Quantico last fall. I was home on leave a few weeks back attending commissioning ceremonies for two of my brothers. After I saluted my newly commissioned Marine brother, my dad asked all of us Marines to come with him over to the nursing home to visit Ray, who we heard was ailing quickly.
We walked into his room, and when he woke up from his nap to see five Marines in dress blues at his bedside, his eyes lit up with great excitement. He was frail and hard to understand, but said he did what he had to do and has never once second guessed his decision to enlist in the corps. It's Marines like this that inspire many to become Marines and uphold the traditions and standards that those before set in place. Ray is one hell of a Marine, and it's nice to know that heavens gates are being guarded by the worlds finest.
Corporal Max Williams
MCAS Iwakuni, Japan