Ray Avila

Birthplace: Wichita, KS

Branch of Service: Army

Theater of Operation: European

Enlisted / Commissioned: Dec 4, 1943

Military Honors: Purple Heart, Bronze Star, French Legion of Honor

Honored By: The Eisenhower Foundation

Ray Avila was born in Wichita, Kansas, the third of eleven children. He was employed at Gridley Motor Co. at the time he signed up for the draft. Avila was indicted into the Army on January 24, 1943, and was stationed in Europe. He was taken as a prisoner of war but escaped, walking until he found American Troops in Czechoslovakia.

Courtesy of fold3.com and KSN