Ray registered for the WW II draft on 30 June 1942 ; he was listed as living in Mt. Prospect, Illinois and he was listed as temporarily employed by The Illinois Tool Works in Chicago; he expected to be a student at UCLA in the fall. He was 5' 6" tall; weighed 116 pounds; had black hair, blue eyes and a 'light' complexion.

He entered the service on 09 June 1943 from Los Angeles, California. He enlisted as a Private; he had two years of college education, was single, without dependents and his civilian occupation was listed as: "Messengers, errand boys, and office boys and girls".

Ray was a member of the 437th TCG Association and was listed on their rosters from 1982 to 2012; he apparently attended several reunions over the years.