Lieutenant Junior Grade Ray was the pilot of a F4U-4 Corsair fighter with Fighter Squadron 821, aboard the carrier USS Princeton (CV-37). On 30 July 1951, shortly after take-off and during a rendezvous with his flight, his aircraft spun, stalled, crashed into the water and exploded.

Ray was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.