Sergeant First Class Ray was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was seriously wounded by the enemy in South Korea on 26 April 1951 and died of those wounds on 30 June 1951. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.

Ray was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman Badge, 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.