By Karen Nielsen Lorence
It was many years ago that we met Ray Moore working out at the Prisco Center. He was a regular and a charming one at that! The intriguing thing is that Ray had a history that included World War II and I couldn’t get enough of the information he had to share. Thus, I took advantage of him for a World War II panel discussion at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in Aurora and even nominated him for the Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal in Aurora. Humble man that he is, he turned me down, but I managed to twist his arm and convinced him that there are so few of the WWII veterans remaining, and we needed to honor them.
On his 98th and 99th birthdays, we had a drive-by parade for him because of COVID. His daughter planned a wonderful get-together this year at the Prisco Center and it was a huge success! Almost 200 guests came to wish him the best for his 100th birthday. Probably the most impressive of all were the military veterans who came to honor him, along with the deputy mayor of Aurora Guillermo “Memo” Trujillo and representatives from the city government of Aurora.
So, what is so impressive about this 100-year- old man? First of all, he was in the Army Air Corp during that decisive World War II and, as a tail gunner, flew 29 bombing missions over Europe. His recollections were that it was so cold and they only had electric flying suits to protect them.
He worked for the Burlington Quincy Chicago Railway upon returning from the war and ran the line from Chicago out to Savanna and up the River Road in Wisconsin. At that time, they had to stop to get water (steam engine) along the way. Picture that old train running between the mighty Mississippi River and the tall bluffs of the Driftless Region in southeastern Wisconsin!
Ray and his late wife, Dolores, of more than 49 years, enjoyed square dancing, travel, and his expanding family of four. Thirty-eight years of retirement allowed him ample opportunity to attend both Burlington and military veterans reunions. He is an active member of both Annunciation Catholic Church in Aurora and active in military veterans’ affairs.
What do we want to say to Ray Moore this year? “Let’s get together again…same time next year!!!”