USArmy 1st Lieut. Bernard Ray was with the 8th Infantry Regiment, @4thID earned the Medal of Honor during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest.
Tasked with assaulting a German position, Ray lead his company under rainy, bitter cold conditions. When they encountered barriers and barbed wire, he took blasting caps, Bangalore torpedoes and wrapped the detonation cord around himself and assault the obstacle under heavy enemy fire. While setting up the charge, he was wounded by a mortar round. Unable to escape to safe distance, he fell on the detonation plugger, killing himself but clearing a path for his Soldiers. He was 23. He is interred at the Long Island National Cemetery. Four Veterans Affairs clinics, a liberty ship, and a barracks in Friedberg, Germany were named in his honor.
In February 2008, collector Stefan Sagorski was searching the Hurtgen battlefield with his metal detector when he found Ray’s dog tags under three feet of dirt. It was most likely the spot where Ray was first buried during the battle. After an internet search and working with volunteers from the @AmericanLegion, the tags were sent to the Ray family. #NoVeteranEverDies #WWII75
https://www.newsday.com/from-the-archives-world-war-ii-hero-s-tale-uncovered-1.8007203


One of three children, Bernard James Ray was born in Brooklyn, NY on June 9, 1921 to Mr. and Mrs. James Ray. The family relocated to a new home at 13 New York Ave. Baldwin, NY while he was still a young boy. Baldwin is a village of approximately 30,000 located in Nassau County on the south shore of Long Island. Bernie, as he was referred to by most, was small in stature and had the reputation of being a bit of a cut up. His cousin Grace McDermott stated, “He was such a great guy. He was a lot of fun to be around and everybody loved him”. Despite his comedic personality, Bernie was a good student in school. He was devoted to his family and church and learned respect for flag and country in the Boy Scouts. He helped build the Baldwin Scout House at 1990 Grove St. which still stands today. Bernie graduated from Baldwin High School in 1939.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Bernie, whose grandfather was a US Navy Captain, attempted to join the Navy, but was rejected due to a vison issue. Determined not to be kept out of the fight, he enlisted as a private in the US Army on June 11, 1942. Bernie demonstrated both leadership qualities and a high aptitude for his new profession. He qualified expert in rifle, carbine and machinegun and received advanced demolition and explosives training when his infantry unit jointly trained with a combat engineering unit. This training would prove to be crucial at a later date. Bernie was selected for Officer Candidate School and was sent to Ft. Benning, GA. He was commissioned 2nd Lieutenant on June 2, 1943 and assigned to the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.

The 4th Infantry division participated in several stateside maneuvers, and relocated several times over the next few months before being sent to Europe. They arrived in England on January 26, 1944. On June 6, 1944, 2LT Bernie Ray was among the first wave to hit the beach during Operation Overlord. The 4th Infantry Division assaulted the northern coast of German-held France during the Normandy landings, landing at Utah Beach. The 8th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Infantry Division made claim to being the first surface-borne Allied unit to hit the beaches at Normandy on D-Day. Airborne troops were the first on the ground in Normandy as they were airlifted in, in the pre-dawn. Relieving the isolated 82nd Airborne Division at Sainte-Mère-Église, the 4th cleared the Cotentin Peninsula and took part in the capture of Cherbourg on June 25 and the fighting near Periers, July 6 thru 12. On July 16 Bernie Ray was promoted to First Lieutenant. As fighting continued, the division broke through the left flank of the German 7th Army, helped stem the German drive toward Avranches, and by the end of August had moved to Paris, and gave French forces the first place in the liberation of their capital. The 4th then moved into Belgium through Houffalize to attack the Siegfried Line at Schnee Eifel on September 14, and made several penetrations. Slow progress into Germany continued in October, and by November 6 the division entered the Battle of Hurtgen Forest.

It was in the Hurtgen Forest on November 17 that 1LT Bernard James Ray, Platoon Leader of Co. F, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, went above and beyond the call of duty. His actions that day demonstrated extreme heroism and, at the cost of his own life, saved the lives of many American soldiers. Actions for which he would posthumously receive the Medal of Honor.

His Medal of Honor Citation reads:

“He was platoon leader with Company F, 8th Infantry, on 17 November 1944, during the drive through the Hurtgen Forest near Schevenhutte, Germany. The American forces attacked in wet, bitterly cold weather over rough, wooded terrain, meeting brutal resistance from positions spaced throughout the forest behind minefields and wire obstacles. Small arms, machinegun, mortar, and artillery fire caused heavy casualties in the ranks when Company F was halted by a concertina-type wire barrier. Under heavy fire, 1st Lt. Ray reorganized his men and prepared to blow a path through the entanglement, a task which appeared impossible of accomplishment and from which others tried to dissuade him. With implacable determination to clear the way, he placed explosive caps in his pockets, obtained several Bangalore torpedoes, and then wrapped a length of highly explosive primer cord about his body. He dashed forward under direct fire, reached the barbed wire and prepared his demolition charge as mortar shells, which were being aimed at him alone, came steadily nearer his completely exposed position. He had placed a torpedo under the wire and was connecting it to a charge he carried when he was severely wounded by a bursting mortar shell. Apparently realizing that he would fail in his self-imposed mission unless he completed it in a few moments he made a supremely gallant decision. With the primer cord still wound about his body and the explosive caps in his pocket, he completed a hasty wiring system and unhesitatingly thrust down on the handle of the charger, destroying himself with the wire barricade in the resulting blast. By the deliberate sacrifice of his life, 1st Lt. Ray enabled his company to continue its attack, resumption of which was of positive significance in gaining the approaches to the Cologne Plain.”

1LT Ray was buried on the battlefield, later exhumed and moved to an American Cemetery in Germany and then his remains where repatriated back to his final resting place in Long Island National Cemetery.

At a ceremony held on Governor’s Island in New York City on December 12, 1945, 1LT Bernard James Ray was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The medal was presented to Bernie’s father, James, accompanied by Bernie’s grandfather. His mother did not attend the ceremony as she felt she could not stand the grief of opening old wounds.

In addition to his Medals, which also included a Bronze Star, Purple Hart, and the Combat Infantry Badge, a US Army instillation in Friedberg Germany, Ray Barracks was named after him; the US Army Transport Ship Lehigh Victory was renamed the 1LT Bernard J. Ray; The Veterans’ Administration honored Bernie by opening the Ray Clinic at 252 Seventh Ave in Manhattan; a monument was erected honoring him at the Memorial Plaza in Silver Lake Park in his home town of Baldwin, NY. And in 2008 that park was renamed the 1LT Bernard J. Ray and SP5 John J. Kedenburg Memorial Park. Kedenburg, also from Baldwin, was a posthumous Medal of Honor recipient from the Vietnam War and is also buried in Long Island National Cemetery.

Ray's dog tags are found by a German hobbyist. He returns them to family 62 years after his death..

News article says four VA clinics will be named for Ray. Eleanor Roosevelt will attend dedication

A memorial at Silver Lake Park in Baldwin, NY for Bernard James Ray.

This is an image of a Memorial at Silver Lake Park in Baldwin NY

Photo of James Bernard Ray's headstone at Long Island National Cemetery.  Photo by Jim Oliveri

This is an image of Bernard James Ray's VA marker

Long Island National Cemetery

Bernard James Ray, a Story of Amazing Bravery
A brave, determined man 
Running under direct fire to complete an impossible mission.
His life before him like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode.
This man had the incredible persistence of a lion determined to catch its prey, 
His last thoughts of his beautiful country,
He courageously died for the American cause.
Blowing up the wire stopping his army from continuing on,
He knew his only choice was to die along with it, unable to make it till dawn
This explosion not only bursting his own life 
But also bursting the hearts of those who hear of his courageous sacrifice
Bernard James Ray will be forever remembered. 
 
His dog tag was lost on site of the battleground
Like a hidden treasure hoping to be found
Leaving his family with no personal possessions. 
It was gone for a while, its hiding place unknown
Until finally a man found it 
Finally returning a piece of him home 
To his family it felt like a glimmer of his dignity
Shining bright in great brilliancy
 
His family gathers for his honor ceremony
Their pride ever glowing bright.
They hear his name called, "Bernard. James. Ray."
Their hearts swell of sadness but also pride
Knowing his pure joy would be overwhelming if he were still here today.
As his story is read,
Not an eye remains dry.
This is the story that lives on today
His bravery will always remain in history
His Medal of Honor crowns his name in glory


In the heart of Baldwin, Nassau County, we honor the indomitable spirit of Bernard James Ray, World War II veteran and recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Born on June 9, 1921, in Brooklyn– Bernard was shaped by an era of global unrest and emerged as a hero when the world was plunged into war.
On November 17, 1944, in the dense, snow-laden Hurtgen Forest near Schevenhutte, Germany, Bernard's platoon faced a formidable enemy. The Battle of Hurtgen Forest, a relentless struggle that began in September of that year, saw American forces pitted against a deeply entrenched German army. Amidst the bitter cold, Bernard and his men were tasked with piercing through the German defenses, a crucial step towards securing the Rhine and, ultimately, Berlin.
The situation grew dire as they faced an impenetrable wire barricade amid relentless enemy fire. Recognizing the urgency, Bernard valiantly sacrificed himself to clear a path. Despite the clear dangers—a dense minefield and formidable German fortifications—the advance was vital for the Allied momentum towards victory.
Though the cost was great, Bernard's leadership and bravery ensured a vital victory for his platoon. His selfless act, under the most dangerous conditions, allowed his fellow soldiers to continue their march toward liberating Europe from Nazi conrol.
For his gallantry far above the call of duty, Bernard posthumously received the highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, on December 8, 1945. His sacrifice is the very embodiment of American courage, a narrative of valor that continues to inspire us.
Here in Baldwin, here in New York, his memory stands as a testament to the price of freedom, a beacon for future generations to understand the profound sacrifice made by those like Bernard who answered their call of duty.
We remember Bernard James Ray, not just as a soldier, but as a man who cared deeply for his country, evident in his stand in the face of adversity. Whose bravery carved a path for peace and protection of the US. May his spirit guide us, his courage protect us, and his memory forever remind us of the cost of liberty.
Farewell, Bernard James Ray. Rest in peace, knowing you have left an indelible mark on the world. We salute you, and we thank you for your unwavering spirit and service to our nation.
Your legacy will never be forgotten.

BERNARD JAMES RAY

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