Herbert J. Ray

Rear Admiral Herbert James Ray (1 February 1893 – 3 December 1970) was an officer in the United States Navy who served in World War I and World War II. A 1914 graduate of the Naval Academy, he served on the submarines and during World War I. In March 1942, as Chief of Staff and Aide to the Commandant of the Sixteenth Naval District, Rear Admiral Francis W. Rockwell, he participated in General Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines. In Australia, he served with MacArthur's General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area staff. In September 1943, he became Captain of the battleship , which he commanded in the Battle of Tarawa, Battle of Kwajalein, Battle of Saipan and the Battle of Peleliu. In October 1944, he participated in the Battle of Surigao Strait, in which Maryland joined the other battleships in engaging the Japanese battleships and and their escorts. Ray left Maryland in December 1944, and was promoted to Commodore and appointed deputy director of the Naval Division of the US Control Group Council for Germany. After VE Day, he became the Junior United States Member of the Tripartite Naval Commission in Berlin. He retired from the Navy on 30 June 1949, and received a tombstone promotion to rear admiral due to his combat decorations.

Early life Herbert James Ray was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on 1 February 1893, the son of James Herbert Ray and his wife Mary née Rosseler. He was educated at Rhea County High School. In 1910, he was appointed to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, from which he graduated on 6 June 1914.

On graduation, he was commissioned as an ensign, and joined the crew of the battleship . In July 1915, he became an instructor for enlisted ratings in Norfolk, Virginia. He then became part of the crew that was assembled for the new battleship in January 1916, and served on it when it was commissioned in March 1916. After the United States declared war on Germany, he underwent submariner training on board the submarine tender from June to November 1917. During the war he served on the submarines and . at Cavite, where he was promoted to captain on 1 July 1941. He was serving in this capacity when the Pacific War began. He was awarded the Legion of Merit for his part in the fighting.

In March 1942, he participated in General Douglas MacArthur's escape from the Philippines, for which Ray was awarded the Silver Star.

In Australia, Ray served with MacArthur's General Headquarters, Southwest Pacific Area. One of his sons, Lieutenant James H. Ray, was on the destroyer when it was lost with all hands on 9 August 1942. When Ray was ordered back to the United States in January 1943, MacArthur awarded him the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

USS Maryland Ray served in the office of the Commander in Chief United States Fleet, Admiral Ernest J. King from April to September 1943. He then became Captain of the battleship . The ship had been damaged in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 but returned to service.

On 29 November, Maryland was attacked and severely damaged by kamikaze aircraft, and forced to return to Pearl Harbor for repairs. For his services as captain, he was awarded the Bronze Star.

Later life Ray became Commander of the San Francisco Group of the Nineteenth Fleet in June 1946. On 10 July, like many other commodores, he was reduced in rank to captain again. He served in this capacity until he retired on 30 June 1949, at which point he received a tombstone promotion to rear admiral due to his combat decorations. He died on 3 December 1970 at Beale Air Force Base Hospital in California.