Medal of Honor: David Ray.

I am continually amazed by the courage and spirit of members of our armed forces, past and present.  On occasion, I will be featuring those who have earned our highest military award, the Medal of Honor, and their extraordinary acts of bravery.

Danny Mitchell served in Vietnam with Delta Battery, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division at Liberty Bridge.  On March 19, 1969, a battalion-size enemy force stormed the Marine outpost.  Their goal was to first overrun, then annihilate the fledgling base.  “Earlier that night, they hit the compound just across the river,” Mitchell explained.  “…That woke me up.  …While this was going on, they came in from the other way, cut the wire and lay down in this ravine.  They were already in the compound.  When things quieted back down, they hit.  …They hit us shortly after midnight.  I was in my hooch.  Just as I heard the AK-47s, somebody ran in and hollered, ‘We’re getting hit!  They’re inside the wire!’  I grabbed my stuff—ammo, gun and helmet, ran out and there’s just tracers bouncing off everything.  …They were all over the place.  They had at least three Russian-made flamethrowers in there and had already torched a couple of hooches.  They made it to within about a hundred yards of mine.”

Mitchell joined the battle.  Jumbled, close-in exchanges ensued, often deteriorating into hand-to-hand combat.  “The group I was with went out to the berm and laid down cover fire.  We had an M-60 with us.  The 105s were shooting beehive rounds—thousands of little steel darts, right into them.  Then all the choppers started coming in.  We killed 70 some inside the compound alone, not to mention all those outside the wire.  I know because the next morning I helped gather them up.”

Twelve Americans were killed that night with dozens more wounded.  One loss in particular remains with Mitchell yet today.  “When I got up that morning, I could barely walk.  I was having these bad back spasms.  I went to see our corpsman—a tall, skinny kid from Tennessee we called Doc Ray.  …Everybody liked him.  …He took me into his hooch, gave me some muscle relaxers and had me lay down on a stretcher.  I stayed up there all day, maybe eight hours just talking with him.  …At five or six o’clock, I went back down to my hooch, maybe a hundred yards away.  About dark that night, he not only came down to check on me, but also brought me three pair of socks.  We talked for about 10 more minutes and then he left.  That’s the last I ever saw of him.  He was killed that night.”

For his heroic actions at Liberty Bridge, above and beyond the call of duty, Corpsman David R. Ray earned the Medal of Honor.  The official citation read in part:

Corpsman David R. Ray (#USN 1143378-A)

“…The initial burst of enemy fire caused numerous casualties among the marines who had immediately manned their howitzers during the rocket and mortar attack.  Undaunted by the intense hostile fire, HC2c. Ray moved from parapet to parapet, rendering emergency medical treatment to the wounded.  Although seriously wounded himself while administering first aid to a marine casualty, he refused medical aid and continued his lifesaving efforts.  While he was bandaging and attempting to comfort another wounded marine, HC2c. Ray was forced to battle 2 enemy soldiers who attacked his position, personally killing 1 and wounding the other.  Rapidly losing his strength as a result of his severe wounds, he nonetheless managed to move through the hail of enemy fire to other casualties.  Once again, he was faced with the intense fire of oncoming enemy troops and, despite the grave personal danger and insurmountable odds, succeeded in treating the wounded and holding off the enemy until he ran out of ammunition, at which time he sustained fatal wounds.  HC2c. Ray’s final act of heroism was to protect the patient he was treating.  He threw himself upon the wounded marine, thus saving the man’s life when an enemy grenade exploded nearby.  By his determined and persevering actions, courageous spirit, and selfless devotion to the welfare of his marine comrades, HC2c. Ray served to inspire the men of Battery D to heroic efforts in defeating the enemy.”

Danny Mitchell visits grave of fallen friend and Medal of Honor recipient, David "Doc" Ray.

Over the years, Mitchell’s thoughts have most often returned to that one battle, and to his fallen friend, Doc Ray.  “You know, I could never remember if I thanked him for bringing me those socks.  Clean, dry socks were a big deal in Vietnam.  So a few years ago, I looked up his hometown on the internet and went down to McMinnville, Tennessee.  Jim Erdly gave me a flag from the Wolf Lake VFW to take with me.  …I found the cemetery and placed the flag by his marker.  I stood by his grave and thought about him and that day.  Before I left, I said, ‘I don’t know if I thanked you or not, so here it goes.  Thanks for the socks, Doc.’”

8 Responses to “Medal of Honor: David Ray”

  1. I served on the U.S.S. Haven with “Bobby” Doc Ray, and later the U.S. Naval Hospital Long Beach. We received our orders to Vietnam at different times. It was an exciting time on the U.S.S. Haven and later at the new Navy Hospital Long Beach, CA for all of us. We were young and charged full of energy. We gave little thought to the dangers of combat in Vietnam. We were the last crew of the U.S.S. Haven as it would be mothballed and sit in the harbor of decommissioned ships in northern California until it was finally scrapped. Doc Ray and I climbed down those same ladders to eat chow in the galley. I wish I had known him better. I wish that we had worked more time together on the ship and later at the new Navy Hospital in Long Beach. However “it was what is was” and we were not in control of our time. We were young and followed our orders. I was once told that “no one writes their own orders”, if I could I would have made sure the “Doc Ray” would have come back from Vietnam in one piece, like fellow Navy Corpsman “Doc” Dave Fossum and I did. Unfortunately “Doc Ray” , like my Uncle SSgt. Webb Digh, a waist-gunner in a B-17 in WW II, they gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. Doc Rays photo is in every U.S. Navy Hospital in the world. He did not plan this, however he was a brave Navy Corpsmen taking care of his U.S. Marines in his platoon. I remember Liberty Bridge and I remember Doc Ray. He is a great symbol to all. When the Star Bangle Banner is sung, please remember Doc Ray and SSgt Webb Digh for their ultimate sacrifice for our country, the USA. Please visit http://www.NavyCorpsmen.com
    Sincerely,
    Doc Rockett

  2. DAN HARTNETT says:

    WE HEAR A LOT ABOUT HEROES…….DOC RAY IS THE DEFINITION OF HERO. HIS SELFLESS ACTS CHANGED THE COURSE OF A SHORT BATTLE THAT SEEMED A LIFETIME. GOD BLESS YOU DAVID RAY.
    SEMPER FI
    DAN HARTNETT
    D-2-11

  3. John Reister says:

    I was at Liberty Bridge with 5th marines that night , I knew the 11th lost a corpsman but didn’t know he won the MOH until about 15 years ago when I read about the battle in VietNam magazine . The “Arty Grunts” did a hell of a job that night , I believe all the KIA’s were 11th Marines . I know we didn’t lose anyone that night , as they hit the perimeter away from us God bless “Doc” and all corpsmen .
    Sgt. john Reister USMC ,2267285

  4. Bill Sperko says:

    I remember that night, and will forever.
    Sad

  5. Cheryl Watson says:

    I am fairly certain that my brother, Private First Class, D BTRY, 2ND BN, 11TH MARINES, 1ST MARDIV, III MAF, Loring (Laurie) William Watson perished in the Battle of Liberty Bridge. He was 19 years old and had been in Vietnam for only a few weeks. He was manning a howitizer, I believe, when the compound was attacked. He fought hard, but was overtaken, and while running to another gun to continue fighting, he was felled by a fatal shrapnel wound to his neck. A close friend/comrade of his carried his body to a helicopter, to get him back to his family. Is there anyone on here who might have known him? My name is Cheryl Watson, his younger sister.

  6. William sperko says:

    I remember that night,horrifying.

  7. Harry White says:

    I was one of the engineers that operated the ferry at Liberty Bridge. We were at the compound on the Dia-Loc side of the river when the attach took place.We were hit with some rocket and mortor some small arms. we were pretty much no help to the Marines on the other side of the river at Phu-Loc 6 where the main attack took place. Lost a friend, Gunny Keefe,that night. He died defending his men at the mess tent.Another side story. While helping with cleanup the following day we found the body,among the dead VC, of the kid that we had do our laundry at Dia-Loc. He had drawn a map of all hooches ,bunkers and gun pits. We knew that kid a long time!! What a messed up war.

  8. Jerry Lock Sgt says:

    I was there at Liberty bridge that night and received a Purple Heart and a bronze star with combat V. What a horrible experience that was. I served over 2 years with Delta battery. If anyone can help me find the magazine that had the story of Liberty Bridge in it, I would appreciate the opportunity to purchase a copy of this magazine.

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