Clyde Raymond McCall
MSGT. US Army (retired)
211th M.P. Company/24th Infantry Division
Cold War/Vietnam Era/Gulf War/Iraq
March ’70 – June ‘01
MSGT. US Army (retired)
211th M.P. Company/24th Infantry Division
Cold War/Vietnam Era/Gulf War/Iraq
March ’70 – June ‘01
Ray McCall was born in 1951 in the town of Brevard, NC the 4th of five children. Ray has two sisters and two brothers, one of whom was wounded in Vietnam. While attending Rosman High School Ray also had the job of school bus driver. He drove two routes each day and parked his bus at his home. When it snowed his mother would get him up at 4am to put chains on the tires of the bus while she made him breakfast.
Rosman was a small, close-knit school of 300+/- students with good sports teams. Ray excelled at football, basketball and baseball and was the co-captain of the football team. Ray’s football team was Appalachian Conference Champs in 1968 and he was awarded the Golden Helmet Award from Coca Cola. He graduated in 1969 and decided to enlist in the military. Although he had several offers to play college football, he knew he couldn’t play ball and keep up with his schoolwork. He decided to enlist in the Air Force because his father had been in the Army Air Corps in WW2 and his brother Larry encouraged him not to join the Army.
Ray’s dad was a B 17 crewmember and was shot down near Bonn Germany. He successfully parachuted out but was captured by the Nazis and ended up in Stalag Luft III. This was a camp for downed airmen and was for officers only. The camp was famous for two prisoner escapes, one of which was the basis for the 1963 movie, The Great Escape. He was held for almost a year before being liberated in April of 1945. In a remarkable coincidence, he was transported back to the US on a Merchant Marine vessel manned by a Merchant Mariner, Harold Wellington, from his hometown of Brevard NC.
Ray went to Lackland Air Force Base for his basic training and from there on to Chanute Technical School in Illinois for training as an aircraft mechanic. He was then assigned to Pope AFB at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. where he worked on F4 and F111 fighter jets, C141’s and C 130 gunships. In 1970 Ray found time to marry Janie Chapman from Lake Toxaway, NC. They were introduced by her cousin and have been married for 51 years.
While Ray and his wife were away on leave from Pope AFB, Ray’s unit shipped out to Vietnam. When he found out his unit had deployed, he told his commanding officer he wanted to go to Vietnam to hook up with his outfit. He was told he was the only one left to work on aircraft stateside and he wouldn’t be going to Vietnam. Ray did travel to Portugal, Iceland, England, Germany and Panama to work on US aircraft during his time in the Air Force.
In 1973 Ray and his wife decided he would not re-enlist. Instead, he was honorably discharged, and they returned to Brevard where Ray enrolled in Blue Ridge Community College where he studied horticulture and then returned at night to get a degree in business administration. Ray thought he wanted to go into the landscaping business but there was not much in the way of landscaping work at that time. He landed a job at the Water Treatment Facility of Hendersonville, NC and then later moved to the Brevard Water Treatment Facility where he became a supervisor.
Ray and his buddy had been considering joining the National Guard. Ray wanted to join the Air National Guard, but his buddy wanted to join the Army National Guard. After much debate they tossed a coin and Ray lost. In the Army National Guard Ray was assigned to a Military Police unit that had a secondary responsibility for water treatment. He was trained as a Combat MP and attached to the 82nd Airborne. His unit was a highly qualified unit and was trained to handle all aspects POW operations. This included constructing temporary holding camps, taking prisoners into custody, providing medical care, feeding and minor interrogation. His unit also was designated as an RDF (Rapid Deployment Force). Between 1980 and 1990 Ray went to the Philippines, Egypt, Germany, and Italy for training and assigned M.P. duties.
In August of 1990 Ray’s unit was called up to deploy to Iraq in preparation for the 1st Gulf War. Ray remembers Iraq as “a hot, dry, miserable place. One day it reached 128 degrees and we had to cease training”. His unit arrived well before the 82nd Airborne Division and they were needed immediately so they were reassigned to the 24th Infantry Division. Ray and his unit spent several months in the desert in Hafar al-Batin, Saudi Arabia, approximately 100 miles from the Iraq border. During this time, they patrolled approximately 150 miles of the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, performing route control measures, gathering intelligence and waiting for the hostilities to start.
When the war commenced Ray and his unit were approximately 1 mile behind the US tank forces. They would take Iraqi prisoners from the front-line US infantry and conducted “mop up” missions where they searched towns and bunkers for Iraqi soldiers. “A good many of those prisoners just threw up their hands and surrendered. Most were pretty docile and did what they were told.”
Toward the end of his time in Iraq, he and another Sargent were responsible for collecting “war booty” from the US troops. They would confiscate such things as antique muskets, 3 golden diamond swords, pearl inlaid Russian pistols, a vintage Iraqi rocket launcher, munitions and other weapons. Much of what they retrieved was destroyed in the middle of the dessert.
Ray returned home to North Carolina where he served as a water treatment consultant to over 70 water treatment facilities in 19 counties and throughout the state of North Carolina. Though he travelled a lot for business, he and Janie had two daughters. Recalling the homecoming he received from his wife and daughters when he returned from Iraq, “they were happy to see me, and I was happy to see them too!”
Ray continued his service with the National Guard. He was selected to train with the Norwegian Army. There was an ongoing program where Norwegian soldiers would join US troops for training and US troops would go to Norway for training. Ray had been a Winter Survival Instructor, and this gave him the opportunity to go to Norway. He recalled being on the Russian border where it was 70 degrees below zero and living in a snow cave with 8 other soldiers. Lots of training on survival and combat tactics in the extreme cold. While living in the snow caves they would light a candle, and someone had to always monitor the candle to alert others if the candle went out………which was a warning that there was no oxygen. It was not unusual to snow ski several miles per day during training.
Ray retired from the National Guard in June of 2001 and then 9/11 happened. He tried to become reactivated, but his age (50) and bureaucracy prevented him from doing so. His official retirement was in 2011 (due to a required waiting period) and he retired from the NC DENR in 2013. For his service to the State of North Carolina, Ray received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award from then, Governor Pat McCrory.
Although Ray has traveled to 25 countries in the service of his country, he always returned home to his boyhood home of Transylvania County in North Carolina. He lives there today with his wife Janie, and their family. Ray joined the Transylvania Honor Guard in 2013 and he remains active today providing the Honor Guard for veteran funerals.
I asked Ray what he thought about his time in the service. “I loved it. I wish I had made a career of the Air Force. I really loved working on planes”.
Thank you Ray for all of your years of service to your country so the rest of us didn’t have to endure 128 degree heat in the middle of the dessert or live in snow caves.
Rosman was a small, close-knit school of 300+/- students with good sports teams. Ray excelled at football, basketball and baseball and was the co-captain of the football team. Ray’s football team was Appalachian Conference Champs in 1968 and he was awarded the Golden Helmet Award from Coca Cola. He graduated in 1969 and decided to enlist in the military. Although he had several offers to play college football, he knew he couldn’t play ball and keep up with his schoolwork. He decided to enlist in the Air Force because his father had been in the Army Air Corps in WW2 and his brother Larry encouraged him not to join the Army.
Ray’s dad was a B 17 crewmember and was shot down near Bonn Germany. He successfully parachuted out but was captured by the Nazis and ended up in Stalag Luft III. This was a camp for downed airmen and was for officers only. The camp was famous for two prisoner escapes, one of which was the basis for the 1963 movie, The Great Escape. He was held for almost a year before being liberated in April of 1945. In a remarkable coincidence, he was transported back to the US on a Merchant Marine vessel manned by a Merchant Mariner, Harold Wellington, from his hometown of Brevard NC.
Ray went to Lackland Air Force Base for his basic training and from there on to Chanute Technical School in Illinois for training as an aircraft mechanic. He was then assigned to Pope AFB at Ft. Bragg in Fayetteville, NC. where he worked on F4 and F111 fighter jets, C141’s and C 130 gunships. In 1970 Ray found time to marry Janie Chapman from Lake Toxaway, NC. They were introduced by her cousin and have been married for 51 years.
While Ray and his wife were away on leave from Pope AFB, Ray’s unit shipped out to Vietnam. When he found out his unit had deployed, he told his commanding officer he wanted to go to Vietnam to hook up with his outfit. He was told he was the only one left to work on aircraft stateside and he wouldn’t be going to Vietnam. Ray did travel to Portugal, Iceland, England, Germany and Panama to work on US aircraft during his time in the Air Force.
In 1973 Ray and his wife decided he would not re-enlist. Instead, he was honorably discharged, and they returned to Brevard where Ray enrolled in Blue Ridge Community College where he studied horticulture and then returned at night to get a degree in business administration. Ray thought he wanted to go into the landscaping business but there was not much in the way of landscaping work at that time. He landed a job at the Water Treatment Facility of Hendersonville, NC and then later moved to the Brevard Water Treatment Facility where he became a supervisor.
Ray and his buddy had been considering joining the National Guard. Ray wanted to join the Air National Guard, but his buddy wanted to join the Army National Guard. After much debate they tossed a coin and Ray lost. In the Army National Guard Ray was assigned to a Military Police unit that had a secondary responsibility for water treatment. He was trained as a Combat MP and attached to the 82nd Airborne. His unit was a highly qualified unit and was trained to handle all aspects POW operations. This included constructing temporary holding camps, taking prisoners into custody, providing medical care, feeding and minor interrogation. His unit also was designated as an RDF (Rapid Deployment Force). Between 1980 and 1990 Ray went to the Philippines, Egypt, Germany, and Italy for training and assigned M.P. duties.
In August of 1990 Ray’s unit was called up to deploy to Iraq in preparation for the 1st Gulf War. Ray remembers Iraq as “a hot, dry, miserable place. One day it reached 128 degrees and we had to cease training”. His unit arrived well before the 82nd Airborne Division and they were needed immediately so they were reassigned to the 24th Infantry Division. Ray and his unit spent several months in the desert in Hafar al-Batin, Saudi Arabia, approximately 100 miles from the Iraq border. During this time, they patrolled approximately 150 miles of the border between Saudi Arabia and Iraq, performing route control measures, gathering intelligence and waiting for the hostilities to start.
When the war commenced Ray and his unit were approximately 1 mile behind the US tank forces. They would take Iraqi prisoners from the front-line US infantry and conducted “mop up” missions where they searched towns and bunkers for Iraqi soldiers. “A good many of those prisoners just threw up their hands and surrendered. Most were pretty docile and did what they were told.”
Toward the end of his time in Iraq, he and another Sargent were responsible for collecting “war booty” from the US troops. They would confiscate such things as antique muskets, 3 golden diamond swords, pearl inlaid Russian pistols, a vintage Iraqi rocket launcher, munitions and other weapons. Much of what they retrieved was destroyed in the middle of the dessert.
Ray returned home to North Carolina where he served as a water treatment consultant to over 70 water treatment facilities in 19 counties and throughout the state of North Carolina. Though he travelled a lot for business, he and Janie had two daughters. Recalling the homecoming he received from his wife and daughters when he returned from Iraq, “they were happy to see me, and I was happy to see them too!”
Ray continued his service with the National Guard. He was selected to train with the Norwegian Army. There was an ongoing program where Norwegian soldiers would join US troops for training and US troops would go to Norway for training. Ray had been a Winter Survival Instructor, and this gave him the opportunity to go to Norway. He recalled being on the Russian border where it was 70 degrees below zero and living in a snow cave with 8 other soldiers. Lots of training on survival and combat tactics in the extreme cold. While living in the snow caves they would light a candle, and someone had to always monitor the candle to alert others if the candle went out………which was a warning that there was no oxygen. It was not unusual to snow ski several miles per day during training.
Ray retired from the National Guard in June of 2001 and then 9/11 happened. He tried to become reactivated, but his age (50) and bureaucracy prevented him from doing so. His official retirement was in 2011 (due to a required waiting period) and he retired from the NC DENR in 2013. For his service to the State of North Carolina, Ray received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award from then, Governor Pat McCrory.
Although Ray has traveled to 25 countries in the service of his country, he always returned home to his boyhood home of Transylvania County in North Carolina. He lives there today with his wife Janie, and their family. Ray joined the Transylvania Honor Guard in 2013 and he remains active today providing the Honor Guard for veteran funerals.
I asked Ray what he thought about his time in the service. “I loved it. I wish I had made a career of the Air Force. I really loved working on planes”.
Thank you Ray for all of your years of service to your country so the rest of us didn’t have to endure 128 degree heat in the middle of the dessert or live in snow caves.