Friends and family, including veterans groups and first responders, help 99 year-old World War II veteran Ray Moore celebrate his birthday Saturday, Feb. 12 with a parade of 20 vehicles which drove past his house in Aurora.
Members of Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club and Roosevelt-Aurora American Legion Post 84 organized the parade which started at Church Road Park which is a few blocks away from Ray Moore’s house.
Ray’s son, Ron Moore, said his dad’s secret to longevity has been hard work and exercise.
Ron’s neighbor and good friend, Jerry May, said, Ray has a wonderful family and, “I’m glad to have him as a neighbor.”
Ray Moore was featured as Veteran of the Month by John Montesano in The Voice February, 11, 2016:
By John Montesano
The Fox Valley Veterans Breakfast Club named Ray Moore the February 2016 Veteran of the Month.
Ray Moore was born February 12, 1923 in Aurora. In 1930, his family moved to a farm near Vienna in southern Illinois. When Ray was graduated from high school in 1941, he took a Greyhound bus and returned to Aurora.
In 1942, he joined the 8th Army Air Corp as a mechanic with the 398th Bomb Group as part of the 8th Air Force 1st Air Division. One of many B-17 bomb groups in England, the 398th was stationed in Nuthampstead, England. Ray was in the 603rd Squadron. He flew 29 strategic bombing missions as a tail gunner. He flew a mission on D-Day, June 6, 1944, while his brother was part of the landing with the field artillery.
Flying B-17 bombing missions was extremely hazardous duty. High altitude flying is dangerous and can affect one’s ability to function properly. The temperature in the plane can be from -3°F to -70°F. The crews were supplied with electrically-heated suits, gloves and boots, but had to contend with them possibly catching fire!
Then there was the enemy. Anti-aircraft flak would come up from the ground, while fighters would come from above. On one flight, Ray’s B-17 had 187 holes in it!
“When you’re flying, you do just one thing…flying,” Moore said. As for the danger, he said: “When you’re in combat and your life is in danger, it’s very hard to describe. It’s a very personal thing.”
After Europe, Ray spent eight months at Chinook AFB in Rantoul, Ill. near Champaign and taught mechanics and worked on the R3350 B-29 engine. By the end of 1945, he was back home in Aurora where he began a 40-year career with the Burlington Railroad. For 10 years, he worked as a fireman on steam locomotives before he was promoted to engineer in 1955. He retired in 1985.
He married Dolores in 1948. Sadly, she passed in 1997. They lived in a house that Ray built in Aurora in 1951. They raised four children.
His love of music is apparent by the large amount of music he owns in various forms and he loves the beat of a 1950s rock and roll tune. His favorite music is Bluegrass.
Ray’s life is filled with examples of his determination and “nose to the grindstone attitude,” from: Enduring 29 B-17 missions; to persevering in such a rigorous task as a steam locomotive fireman; to working in his newly-built garage to build his house. He does what needs to be done.
Nowadays you can find him at a workout center several times a week, at a Bluegrass festival, or visiting with friends. He is a delightful guy with a warm smile and a great laugh.
Happy birthday, wishes are in order with a 93rd birthday celebration Friday.
Submitted photo