The Naval Historical Foundation: We Have Met the Enemy and They Are Ours!

Yes, The War. Which war, you ask? There have been so many.  I've found a book from the Naval Historical Foundation that belonged to my late husband.  He was a Navy Man, through and through.  He belonged to the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the 40 and 8.  He was Commander of his American Legion Post (Dover, NJ);  he was the State Commander of New Jersey; he marched in parades, spoke at American Legions and VFW functions;  he personally placed flags on graves of fallen soldiers on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.  If there was anyone who  exemplified the epitome of loyalty to his country, it was Ray Miller.

Ray was a "Gentle Giant."  He honored family and country above all else.  These were his values.  There was no dispute.  I was so young when we married, I never fully appreciated the values he had grown up with.  The values that he  never betrayed.   

Once something is put on the internet, it never goes away.  That is why I feel the need to document some of the history of our United States Navy.  I know Ray had a small military part as far as the actual conflict was concerned.  As a Navy man, Ray was stationed off the coast of Viet Nam.  He never really fully entered the conflict.  However, for all his service in the ensuing years related to the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, he was a hero.  I was no longer in the picture but I'm told there was not a parking space available in the entire town of Denville for his memorial service. If you have read my previous hub about Ray, some of the information is repeated here.

1775 - 1815 We Have Met The Enemy And They Are Ours! (William M. Fowler, Jr.)

1816 -1860 Whose Flag Has Displayed in Distant Climes (Michael J. Crawford)

THE CIVIL WAR: Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead

1865 - 1922: You May Fire When Ready, Gridley (James C. Bradford)

1922 - 1941: A Navy Second to None, (Thomas C. Hone)

1941 - 1945: Winning a Two Ocean War

Naval History Of The United States of America

Ray never questioned his duty to country. He was grateful to serve. His mother was an English immigrant. The way the love story goes, Ray's Dad met this wonderful woman in England during WWII. After the war, he went back for her. They married and came to America.  How could you miss with a beginning like that!