Ray Hill's Last Battle

To the flying friends of Ray Hill:

Some of you are aware that Ray has been fighting cancer for some time. His fight is nearly over. Becky and I visited him tonight, and he is in extreme pain and very weak. Hospice has been helping him now for a little over a week. Both he and Dorothy are at Park Center in Newton, Iowa.

One must be very close and quiet to hear Ray speak. But, tonight I showed him pictures of the Smiling Thru hangar restoration, and he seemed to perk up a little. He was wearing a T-shirt from the fly-in in Brodhead, Wisconsin. His flying friends mean a lot to him.

As many of you know, Ray was one of the first Marines to hit the beach in five major campaigns in the Pacific during WWII. He survived some of the worst battles in Marine history--without a scratch. But he is losing this battle. Please pray that his family will be comforted. Pray, too, for Ray.

Update 7/1/07: Ray passed away on June 30, 2007.

I have been asked by the family to organize a fly-over of the grave side services. If you would be willing to participate please call me (641.792.9764) or e-mail me asap. Any and all airplanes, owned, rented or borrowed, would be welcome. The more the better. It will be our tribute to a man that helped so many of us in so many ways. He is a great American and a great friend.

Please pass this information on to others.

Jim Jones