Ray Garcia enlisted in November 1942. He had been tested for the aviation cadet program for the Army Air Force prior to that. If he had failed, he would have been an infantryman. He knew he wanted to be a fighter pilot. He was born in San Antonio [Annotator's Note: San Antonio, Texas] into a poor but loving Latino family. His mother was born in Mexico and his father's family had originated in Spain and settled in Mexico. Texas history talks much about the relationship of that state and Mexico. Texas, California, and the regions in between belonged to Mexico. Garcia's name resulted in discrimination. His mother had great faith and brought him and his sister up with that feeling that there was a God above. She taught him to follow his dream despite the circumstances. In junior high school, he asked a teacher how he might become a pilot. She directed him to go to a vocational school which he did. He felt the bias toward his Latino background but still went to the vocational school. That was a blessing. His math teacher changed his life. She was Ms. Edith May [Annotator's Note: surname spelling uncertain]. She instilled in him a passion for math and science. That became important in his latter life. In the summer of 1941, he tested to become an aircraft repair apprentice. Ms. May encouraged him to take the test and get the experience. He passed it and went to work. On 7 December 1941, Pearl Harbor happened [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. B-17s [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber] from Hawaii started flying in for repairs. The apprentices were promoted to junior and senior mechanics. He evaluated the damage on the B-17s and used diagrams, catalogues and drawings to order parts for the damaged bombers. One day he saw an ad on the office bulletin board for the aviation cadet program. It said that the college requirement was rescinded. He told his supervisors that he wanted to apply but his boss told him that he was deferred from service. His supervisor would not let him go. A friend in the Personnel Department told Garcia to go to a board who would decide. The board agreed that Garcia could apply. He passed the test and received a letter saying he was to report to a location in San Antonio in January 1943 to go to his new assignment. He went to college for six months. His math experience served him well. He was allowed to start aviation training after two months. In December 1943, he was in aviation cadet training. He met a young cadet from Louisiana named Louis Fraser. Fraser had engineering training from Louisiana State University. The two men became fast friends and went through training together. In April 1944, the two graduated and were commissioned second lieutenants. They went off to P-47 Thunderbolt [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] combat training in Wendover, Utah [Annotator's Note: Wendover Field, later Wendover Air Force Base, in Wendover, Utah]. Completing the training, he was assigned to the 57th Fighter Group [Annotator's Note: 64th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force]. He boarded a ship to Europe along with Louis Fraser [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Louis E. Fraser], Sam Durfee [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Samuel S. Durfee], Kit Kitowski [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Charles B. "Kit" Kitowski] and 14 others who were to become members of the 64th Fighter Squadron. Durfee and Garcia were assigned to Green Flight commanded by Bill Berry [Annotator's Note: later United States Air Force Colonel William F. Berry]. Garcia, who had been the youngest in flight school, discovered that Berry was younger than him. They were all young warriors in World War 2.

Because of his P-47 Thunderbolt [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] training, Ray Garcia was immediately put in combat missions. On their fourth mission, Louis Fraser [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Louis E. Fraser; Garcia's best friend during and after his service years] and Garcia were to attack the Brenner Pass [Annotator's Note: a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria] which was heavily defended. The Pass was the throughway for much of the enemy supplies from Germany to Italy. There were many weapons in the Pass including antiaircraft guns with many on the mountainside. Fire would come from the top, sides and ground. Fraser and Garcia returned all shot up. After dropping their bombs, they strafed railway cars. The feeling of the incoming fire exploding and hitting the airplane was awesome. Exiting the Pass, seven of the eight planes on the mission had been damaged. The crew chief inspected the planes and heard his commander say they were to be repaired by the next morning. The ground crew managed to get the work done. The ground crews should receive more credit for what was accomplished. Since Garcia was ten years old, he wanted to fly. There were four airfields around San Antonio [Annotator's Note: his hometown of San Antonio, Texas] so he saw planes in the sky all the time. He built a treehouse and pretended to fly when the wind blew. When he was 12, he went to the movies and saw the aviation cadets in towns driving convertibles with beautiful girls alongside them. The dream to be a pilot started early in life. He did not care what he had to do to become a pilot. He would do anything to become a flyer. The fourth combat mission was peanuts. There would be more to come. A port at Genoa [Annotator's Note: Genoa, Italy] had German resupply ships docked there. He flew a mission to dive bomb them. He was hit by an 88mm shell [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery]. His Thunderbolt's landing gear was blown completely through the wing. The plane was out of control. Garcia thought he would have to bail out but managed to get the ship under control. It took a grueling 45 minutes to reach the base for a high speed landing. He made it, but those 45 minutes coming back were worse than the Brenner Pass. His airspeed had to be maintained at 240 miles per hour in order to keep the plane under control. He did not feel worried because flying was what he wanted to do. He had to thank his mother and high school math teacher [Annotator's Note: Ms. Edith May; surname spelling uncertain] for giving him the confidence to get beyond his disadvantages. It was the feeling of freedom and exhilaration that he loved about flying.

Ray Garcia's worst experience happened in January 1945 when he could not fly because he had a cold. His best buddy, Louis Fraser [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Louis E. Fraser], flew a mission to Piacenza, Italy without him. A bridge there was to be dive bombed. Fraser was hit by an 88mm shell [Annotator's Note: German 88mm multi-purpose artillery]. He called in that he was going to crash land his aircraft. When the accompanying pilots debriefed the mission, they explained that Fraser had little chance of surviving the crash. Garcia had to realize he had lost his best buddy. They had flown about 30 combat missions together. Garcia questioned the validity of what he personally was doing. He walked down a Mediterranean beach near his base at Marina di Grosseto contemplating the circumstances. He had to figure out how to deal with the situation. Soon afterward, he witnessed another P-47 Thunderbolt [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] crash and kill its pilot during a test flight. It was aircraft number 13. Everyone feared the number jinxed the plane and its pilot. When a new airplane number 13 was to be assigned, the first pilot due to receive a new aircraft refused it. Garcia was next up for a new plane. He gladly accepted it. [Annotator's Note: Garcia reacts with glee.] He went on to name it La Lou after Louisiana Louis Fraser. Garcia had the name painted on his new ship by his crew chief, Sergeant Saboski [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces Sergeant Edward A. Saboski], so that he could continue to fly with Fraser. That was part of his recovery process after losing Fraser. They had been roommates because of the alphabetic order of their names. Additionally, Fraser never had any issue with Garcia being Latino. Fraser always wanted to help people. He became Garcia's mentor as they went through flight school together. Garcia met Fraser's family in Many, Louisiana. They all welcomed Garcia and he felt a part of the family. Fraser was almost Garcia's brother. Garcia was surprised when he received a message from the Red Cross saying that his brother was still alive in a prisoner of war camp. Garcia took the message to his squadron commander, Barney Barnum [Annotator’s Note: US Army Air Forces Major Robert A. Barnum] to better understand. It turned out that Fraser's mother, Mrs. Lula, had put Garcia as her son so that he would be notified at the same time as the rest of the family. That was the way the Fraser family did things. The Frasers taught Garcia not to worry about being a Latino. They taught him to follow his dream and have faith in God. It was the same messages he heard from his mother. Garcia was doing what he wanted to do and those at home were backing him. It gave him confidence. There was some prejudice with cadets from the Southwest early on in the service. Garcia could tell some people had problems with Latinos, but the Frasers helped him understand that there are people who had no issue with his background. After he was commissioned, bias would come up very seldom.

Ray Garcia landed in Italy in October 1944. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses to provide a brief break in the discussion with Mr. Garcia.] Operation Strangle was the effort to choke off the German access to their troops in Italy, primarily through the Brenner Pass [Annotator's Note: a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria]. The bridges in the Po Valley [Annotator's Note: a geographic region in Northern Italy] were to be targeted also. All communications were to be destroyed as were railroads and any tanks discovered. Anything that moved was to be wiped out. The operation was the decisive effort to halt the Germans and then force them to retreat. Garcia's fighter group [Annotator's Note: Garcia was a member of the 64th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force] supported the 10th Mountain Division. The three types of missions flown were to support the troops on the front line, to destroy enemy movement in the Po Valley, and to choke the Brenner Pass. The Brenner Pass was the most useful access from Germany to her troops in Italy. It was highly defended and obstacles were in place to prevent Allied aircraft attack. Many planes and pilots were lost. Operation Strangle was the most focused effort of the 5th and 8th Armies [Annotator's Note: United States 5th Army and British 8th Army] in Italy. Veteran pilots told Garcia that the effort was very focused compared to the past. Another good friend, Albert Nickels [Annotator's Note: later United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Albert Nickels], was shot down on a mission over the Po Valley. After crash landing, his plane inverted with the tail skyward. Nickels was blinded when he escaped the burning plane and rolled away from the fire. Nine German soldiers came up and Nickels spoke to them in their language asking for help. They refused and one shot him in the head. Later, one of the enemy soldiers came back and bandaged Nickels' wound but took his wallet and other items and then left him there.

Ray Garcia had contact with the Italian partisans who opposed Mussolini [Annotator's Note: Italian fascist dictator Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini; also known as il Duce]. The partisans had set up a powerful organization in Italy to support the Allied troops. They helped pilots who were shot down. Each pilot carried in his wallet his photograph in Italian civilian dress to aid in that effort. In the closing days of the war, Garcia's fighter group [Annotator's Note: Garcia was a member of the 64th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force] moved from Grosseto [Annotator's Note: Grosseto, Italy] to Villafranca [Annotator's Note: Villafranca di Verona, Italy]. By then, Garcia was a flight commander; he was in charge. They flew ground support for the 5th and 8th Armies [Annotator's Note: United States 5th Army and British 8th Army]. They were sent to land and set up their base in Villafranca. They were greeted by partisans who were armed and dressed as such. Garcia and his Americans were the first to arrive. The partisans communicated with Garcia that about 1,200 Germans were trapped a few miles away in a crater. The 5th Army had missed them. There were enemy tanks and antiaircraft weapons there. They could escape and do some real damage. The partisans requested a bombing mission on the enemy. Garcia responded that he did not have the authority to order that. He discussed it with his assistant flight leader, Sam Durfee [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Samuel S. Durfee]. They went to debate the issue with the leader of the partisans. The leader had communications linkage with the Americans. He found out the remaining part of Garcia's squadron would arrive in several hours. The group commander, Archie Knight [Annotator's Note: later United States Air Force Colonel Archie J. Knight] and Barney Barnum [Annotator’s Note: US Army Air Forces Major Robert A. Barnum] authorized two missions. The Germans ultimately surrendered. Garcia was pleased to have the experience of dealing with the partisans.

Ray Garcia and Al Nickels [Annotator's Note: later United States Air Force Colonel Albert B. Nickels] both made the Air Force a career. They have reunions of the 57th Fighter Group [Annotator's Note: Garcia was a member of the 64th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force]. The war in Europe ended in May 1945. The Pacific war continued. Meeting the partisans, dealing with Colonel Knight [Annotator's Note: later United States Air Force Colonel Archie J. Knight], and getting permission for a bombing run on Germans gave Garcia a feeling of connection to the operations of the war. Another thing about Villafranca [Annotator's Note: Villafranca di Verona, Italy] was that he knew Operation Strangle [Annotator's Note: the Allied operation to choke off supplies from Germany to her troops in Italy] had succeeded. He was impressed with his accomplishments and how his mother and Ms. Edith May [Annotator's Note: surname spelling not certain; Ms. May was a teacher for Garcia] had inspired him to live his dream. He had ended the war successfully. So many pilots and planes had been lost. In the 65th Fighter Squadron [Annotator's Note: 65th Fighter Squadron, 57th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force], 13 of 16 of Garcia's classmates in that squadron had been shot down. Some were rescued and others not. Garcia was happy that La Lou, Louis Fraser [Annotator's Note: Garcia's best friend was Louis Fraser from Many, Louisiana who was shot down and thought killed but was actually captured by the Germans and survived the war], had taken care of him during the war. It made his so excited that he took off in his P-47 [Annotator's Note: Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft] and performed aerobatics over the field. He dedicated his victory flight to Louis Fraser. Dedicating the victory to Fraser was meaningful. The next step was for the fighter unit to go to the Philippines to attack Japan. En route, the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima [Annotator's Note: Hiroshima, Japan] on 6 August [Annotator's Note: 6 August 1945] and Nagasaki [Annotator's Note: Nagasaki, Japan] on 9 August [Annotator's Note: 9 August 1945]. The announcement on the ship, the Sea Owl, was that atomic bombs had been dropped and the Emperor had agreed to discuss surrender. No one knew what an atomic bomb was. Nevertheless, the second bomb was announced and the war was over. Grown men began to cry. Sam Durfee [Annotator's Note: US Army Air Forces First Lieutenant Samuel Durfee] was just concerned with his promised promotion. The Sea Owl reported back to the United States and Garcia returned home. Louis Fraser married Audrey Tyler. Garcia married Gloria with Fraser as his best man. Garcia honors Fraser with his email address, lalou013. He feels he is still flying together with Fraser. Garcia flew 82 combat missions and was never shot down but lost a lot of his buddies. He stayed in the Air Force and flew the latest fighter jets. He moved up the operations chain and ultimately was attached to NORAD, North American Air Defense Command. He attended college at night for ten years and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1961.