Ray C. Burrus, Jr.
Ray C. Burrus, Jr.
Ray C. Burrus, Jr.
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp issued a proclamation declaring May 20, 2024 as Ray C. Burrus, Jr. Day, and urged all within the county to "honor his amazing life and recognize his many accomplishments."
Major Ray C. Burrus, Jr. was born 100 years ago on May 20, 1924 in St. Louis. He attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology before enlisting in the Army in 1942 as part of the weather department responsible for the invasion date of three northwestern African seaports. Major Burrus personally delivered the third set of plans and was charged with taking 121 soldiers to Europe to set up weather-radio stations to aid troops as they advanced in France and Germany.
He stayed in France after WWII and there he met and married a wife and they had one daughter.
He studied at Ecole des Mines University before later serving in the Air Force during the Korean War, where he flew over 200 missions during a year and a half for US coastal defense.
He returned to MIT after his military career and earned is electrical engineering degree and was hired by General Motors. He was with GM for nearly 30 years, and set up manufacturing facilities in Switzerland and India.
He was married to Eleanor Bond for nearly 30 years and they had one son.
When Major Burrus isn't reading science fiction, he may be found playing table tennis, a sport he enjoys, even playing for over 20 years in the annual Senior games in Florida.