Ray served with the 7th Infantry Division in Korea from 1954 to 1955. After discharge he attended a flight school on the GI Bill and received his pilot certificates. ATR,ASEL, AMEL, GLIDER-Flight Instructor: ASEL, MEL, Instrument, Glider, typed HS125, Casa 212 and PBY.

He flew over 20 years as a corporate pilot in the Twin Beech 18, MU 2 and KingAire. He also served with the Federal Aviation Administration as an Aviation Safety Inspector until retirement.

During the next 10 years following retirement he became a volunteer pilot with the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach and flew 14 WW2 aircraft in air shows and demonstrations. The P-51, Spitfire, Hurricane, Yak 3, PBY, BT 13, SNJ and several others. He has 13,000 hours of flight time.

He and a friend (Forrest Lankford) started a glider club in the Virginia Beach area which is still operating after 50 years. He presently serves as a docent with the Military Aviation Museum and gives lectures on the P-51 Mustang.