Ray Dennis Irby was born in November 1924 in Meridian, Mississippi. He had four brothers and two sisters. He was the youngest boy, and his two sisters were younger than him. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer asks Irby if he walked to school during The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945.] His father was employed as an inspector for Southern Railway [Annotator's Note: now part of Norfolk Southern Railway]. His mother was a housewife. His father was laid off late during the Depression but went back after the economy grew. The family had three meals a day. His mother picked up some work then. They were a close family. He had four uncles who had farms and they got their food that way. His father was elected Constable for eight years. They knew they did not have everything they wanted, but they did not miss anything. Two older brothers went to Mississippi State [Annotator's Note: Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science in Starkville, Mississippi] in 1936. The community was tight knit. It was a beautiful time, unlike any time since. They had a car before the Depression and did not get a new car until his father was a Constable. One sister went to the University of Tennessee [Annotator's Note: in Knoxville, Tennessee], and one went to Tulane [Annotator's Note: Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana]. After the war, Irby went to Mississippi State. Both of his sisters married and did not use their Nursing degrees. From there he traveled for 3M [Annotator's Note: the 3M Company] and then was called back to active duty for the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953]. He was commissioned and went as a Battery Commander. He was heading to Vietnam but got transferred to Travis Air Force Base [Annotator's Note: in Solano County, California] to go to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] to take over an anti-aircraft battery. In 1953, he left the service for a national advertising company.

Ray Dennis Irby turned 17 in 1941. He was in the backyard of his home in Meridian [Annotator's Note: Meridian, Mississippi] when he heard the excitement on the radio about declaring war on Japan [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. President Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States] gave his speech the next day [Annotator's Note: Infamy Speech; President Franklin D. Roosevelt to a Joint Session of the U.S. Congress, 8 December 1941]. It was extremely weird to go from a peaceful nation to war. He went when they told him. He was 18 and went to Camp Shelby, Mississippi [Annotator's Note: in Hattiesburg, Mississippi] for basic training. It was weird to do what was told you, when you were told. He took some tests. He went to Fort Riley [Annotator's Note: in Geary and Riley counties, Kansas] for final training in the infantry. He went home on leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] after basic training, and it was relief to get out of the routine. What was unexpected was what was facing him. It was extremely hot at Camp Shelby, but at Fort Riley the heat was unbelievable. He went to Fort Ord [Annotator's Note: now Fort Ord National Monument, Monterey Bay, California] to get ready to go overseas. That was a great relief [Annotator's Note: from the heat]. The beauty of the west coast was unbelievable. He was not attached at that time was finishing his training in the hills there. He was shipped to New Guinea where he joined the 1st Cavalry [Annotator's Note: 1st Cavalry Division]. It took 30 days to zig-zag [Annotator's Note: a naval anti-submarine maneuver] there on the Monticello [Annotator's Note: USS Monticello (AP-61)] to Port Moresby, New Guinea. He joined the people who had come up with horses at Fort Bliss, Texas. Taking their horses away was like taking a member of their family away. Their horses came first. Many had been in 15 to 20 years of service.

Ray Dennis Irby went into his first invasion, and he will never forget it. He hit the ground. The sergeant was walking around as .25 calibers were hitting all around them. The sergeant asked Irby why he hit the ground and said the enemy was cross-eyed and did not know where they were shooting to get up and go. From then on, that inspired him. From jungle to jungle and patrol to patrol, they had the protection of the Navy if they got pinned down. It was the strangest thing he ever witnessed in his life. As bad as Camp Shelby [Annotator's Note: in Hattiesburg, Mississippi] and Fort Riley [Annotator's Note: in Geary and Riley counties, Kansas] were in temperature, this was worse. He perspired all night. At night in the foxholes, land crabs would crawl in, and he would think it was the Japanese. It was a feeling of dread that he will never forget. They continued on to the Philippines [Annotator's Note: Battle of Leyte, 17 October to 26 December 1944, Leyte, Philippines] after action on other islands in the Admiralty group. An inspiring incident was when he was on patrol and came across an Australian with five to ten natives with him controlling the navies. He would tell them what the density of the Japanese forces were and to be careful of snipers tied in coconut trees. The first thing they did in the mornings was spray the coconut trees with fire before getting out of their foxholes. Many times Japanese would fall out of the trees. It was something he had never dreamed about. They went into the Philippines from island to island and saw many Navy actions. They would dig their foxholes deep due to bombardment by the Japanese Navy. A lot of those battles turned in their favor. In Manila [Annotator's Note: Manila, Luzon, Philippines], they were able to go to Santo Tomas [Annotator's Note: Santo Tomas Internment Camp, or, Manila Internment Camp, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines] and free the prisoners who were going to be killed that day [Annotator's Note: 3 February 1945]. For an 18-year-old kid, it was the strangest thing that ever happened. The readjustment to coming back [Annotator's Note: was hard] as it lingered with him for many years. He is thankful he made it through and came back in good shape. Getting a full night's sleep not thinking somebody was going to crawl in and kill you [Annotator's Note: was good]. [Annotator's Note: Irby points to a young person off-camera and says that he did the same thing as the only survivor of an explosion in his vehicle.] He had never dreamed that people could be that brutal and savage.

Ray Dennis Irby stayed overseas from 1943 until December 1945. He was in Tokyo [Annotator's Note: Tokyo, Japan] when the war ended. When MacArthur [Annotator's Note: General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander, Southwest Pacific Area] signed the ending of the war, his unit [Annotator's Note: 1st Cavalry Division] was authorized to go to Yokohama [Annotator's Note: Yokohama, Japan]. There were three or four instances of diehards [Annotator's Note: Japanese soldiers] trying to keep it going, but that was minor. From then on it was peaceful and it was a relief to not know the constant fear of being shot. It is hard to describe. It had been years of fear. While Irby was there, he could see little to no difference in the Japanese. They were probably happy the war ended. Being that young and exposed like that to that fighting, the concept of how close he came to not coming back [Annotator's Note: was difficult]. Getting on the ship is also hard to describe. He was offered a commission to reenlist but did not. A friend in the National Guard unit at home [Annotator's Note: Mississippi National Guard] asked him to join because of his experience. He joined that in tanks but then changed to antiaircraft. He was traveling for 3M [Annotator's Note: the 3M Company] in Florida and Georgia. He got notice to go back to Mississippi for active duty [Annotator's Note: for the Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953]. He was now a Second Lieutenant in the National Guard. He had used the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment]. He was sent to Camp Stoneman [Annotator's Note: Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California] as a forward observer. The life expectancy for that role was less than one minute. He was antiaircraft artillery. This was 1950. They were to take a plane from Travis Air Force Base [Annotator's Note: in Solano County, California] but were sent back to Camp Stoneman to be reassigned. He went back there for a couple of weeks. He was reassigned and got on a ship to Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan]. He took over an antiaircraft battery as a forward observer in the 85th Antiaircraft Battery [Annotator's Note: unable to identify parent unit] for two years. When he came back, he was promoted to Captain. He went back to traveling for 3M when he returned in the national advertising department. In Okinawa, they only had few instances of Koreans following the planes and the ships back to the base.

Ray Dennis Irby was on Okinawa [Annotator's Note: Okinawa, Japan] for two years [Annotator's Note: during the Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953]. Irby felt like getting out of the Army was like getting out of prison and into civilian life for good. He left right when he returned. He left 3M [Annotator's Note: the 3M Company] and joined State Farm Insurance in their advertising department. He was offered a position with Sears Roebuck for advertising. He retired from there in 1984 after 28 years. The war did not change Irby. He returned to normalcy and living. Occasionally he would think or dream about it. He was able to start a new day when he woke up. The closeness of being with other people doing a job that had to be done, and the bonding with fellow soldiers in accomplishing a mission [Annotator's Note: was great]. Irby feels that America went through a remarkable event that they were lucky to come out of. It worries him to think about the wars today. It appears it will be one after another. There is always a war of some kind. Irby thinks that the war should be taught but hopes the events of the lives of the people of the future will not be like his was.