Retired Sgt. Ray McCormick Continues to Serve 

Sergeant Ray McCormick was active as a Marine from 1965 to 1969, but his compassion and reverence for fellow service members continues decades later. In his role as Veterans Service Officer, McCormick has assisted over 600 Edmond veterans in receiving their governmental benefits. 

“Veterans aren’t always aware of the benefits due them and their families,” McCormick said. “But they’re all my comrades, so I’d do anything to help them.” 

McCormick grew up in the projects of Los Angeles. His neighbor’s dad was a Marine, and McCormick found his work exciting. “So when the day came, I did it. I signed up,” McCormick said. He enlisted in the mid-sixties, which landed him in the middle of the Vietnam War. McCormick was sent to Vietnam twice, and he fought in one of the most brutal battles of the war, Operation Utah. Although Marines killed 2,000 enemies in the midst of intense fighting, McCormick vividly remembers the 100 American soldiers who lost their lives. 

“When you’re carrying out dead bodies, you realize that this is real,” McCormick said somberly. “That’s the day I became a man.” 

After the battle, he was selected to receive a Bronze Star and a Medal of Valor for his unit in the Marine Corps. After McCormick returned to Camp Pendleton, he held the new role of combat trainer. He taught recruits about survival, jungle warfare, combat tactics, and chemical warfare. “It wasn’t fun and games, taking people through the gas chamber,” McCormick said. 

The second time McCormick went to Vietnam he gained a Purple Heart. He spent three months in the hospital, and he learned to walk again. Upon McCormick’s return to civilian life, the Los Angeles School District was hiring painters, and McCormick worked his way up through the ranks, eventually becoming a painting inspector. Always athletic, McCormick hosted Ray’s Karate Club at the high school. Several of his students then attended LA’s well-known Black Karate Federation and went on to act in the Bruce Lee Movie, Enter the Dragon. 

When McCormick retired in 2015, he moved to Oklahoma to marry the woman who won his heart, Janice A. McCormick. “Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to leave LA, but I prayed about it and the Lord guided me here to Edmond.”

Shortly afterward, McCormick was selected for a Tour of Valor, in which Purple Heart recipients are taken to visit the countries where they fought. “It was the best trip of my life,” McCormick said. “Seeing Vietnam was excellent for me and brought closure.” 

A few years ago, McCormick was at the UCO Jazz Lab when he noticed the American Legion building across the street. He walked over to check it out, and he found fellow comrades and a new purpose. “One day, I was sitting in the corner being cool, and the commander invited me to volunteer as the Service Officer. I said, ‘I’ll give it a shot.’ Now, it’s been four years.”

The American Legion not only helps Veterans or their spouses receive health, housing, or insurance benefits, the members actively volunteer in the community. Edmond’s American Legion Post at Stephenson Park has the 4th largest membership in the nation! 

“It is so satisfying to help people sort out all the paperwork, and if they weren’t treated right in the past, I tell them, ‘As long as you’re breathing, keep applying,’” McCormick said. “It does me good to ‘help a brother out.’ I’m not looking for anything in return except the smiles on their faces when it turns out good for them.”

Edmond’s American Legion is open for assisting Veterans every Monday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is located at 101 E 5th St, Edmond, phone 405-341-3049, or online at legion.org.