Page 92 - Senior Link Magazine Fall 2022 - Online Magazine
P. 92
Ray Estill WWII Era Veteran/
Life-long Pharmacist
by Larry Williams
into my senior year, and flew to Hickam Field near
but as far back as Honolulu. I stayed in Scofield
I can remember, I Barracks and had my first taste
always wanted to be a of honeydew melon. After one
pharmacist,” Raymond month, we flew to Kwajalein.
said. In fact, he started I was assigned to MATS
working in a drugstore (Military Air Transport Service)
in Hinton when he was in billeting (assigning living
only 14 years old. quarters to pilots and airmen).
The officers and pilots would
Almost as much as rest up there until their next
Estill wanted to be a flight. They usually stayed on
pharmacist, he wanted for 24 hours, while their C-97
to fly. Before entering and C-54 aircrafts were being
the Army Air Corps refueled. Later, they would
in November 1948, haul ammunition and supplies
“I had already been to Korea and bring wounded
flying around in a Piper men back to be transferred to
Cub airplane. After Fitzsimons Hospital in Denver.
enlistment, I was sent
to Sheppard Air Force “One of the scariest moments
Base. At first, we were was when we took a landing
issued Army Air Corps craft over to Majuro Atoll to play
dark green uniforms, baseball. Not long after landing,
but three weeks later, we were fired on by a Japanese
we changed to Air Force soldier who didn’t realize the
aymond Estill is not a blue. In my four months war (WWII) was over. We had a
native Texan, but he is there, I was able to finish my Marine detachment of about 15
Rabout as close as one can high school education and get men, and they caught him and
get. He was born only 20 miles my G.E.D. sent him back to Japan.”
from the Red River, just northeast “I received orders for Kwajalein Estill spent a total of 14 months
of Childress, Texas to William Atoll, which was part of the on Kwajalein. “I was the post
and Gladys Estill on August 15, Marshall Islands in the Pacific. office guy for about eight months
1930, the only son of their five I took a bus to San Francisco and had to pick up mail at the
children. The Great Depression Navy Base on the other
had just begun, and, like end of the atoll wearing a
most other Americans, .45 on my hip. I was able
the Estill family struggled to hitch a ride on several
during the downturn. They planes during my time
eventually moved to Hinton, there and visited Wake
Oklahoma, where William Island, Johnson Atoll,
was a police officer for 18 Guam, Japan, Tinian,
years and took on other odd and Iwo Jima, several of
jobs to help keep the family which were major battle
afloat.
locations during WWII. I
“I finished the 11th grade left Kwajalein and flew to
and only got six weeks Hawaii on a C-54, finally
92 Lubbock Senior Link
