James “Jim” Bray, Sr., West Plains, enlisted in the Air Force at Valejo, Calif. in 1956; at 17, he was too young to enlist without a parent’s permission, so the forms were wired to his mother to sign. He ended up having a career with the Air Force that lasted 30 years.
He was born May 13, 1939, in Howell County, where he lived until 1946, when his family moved to Colorado. He is one of 16 siblings in a family with strong military ties. His father Carl served in the Army during World War I. His brother Leo served in the Army in the South Pacific during World War II, and three other brothers, Raymond, Charles and Earl, also served in the Air Force. Earl served during the Korean War.
In February 1957, still not quite 18 years old, Jim Bray had his first assignment, and traveled to Japan. That was the first of his travels with the military that took him all over the world, he added. He went to Hiroshima a couple of times during the years before rebuilding, and witnessed firsthand the destruction that nuclear weapons can cause.
His involvement during the Vietnam War included staging missions out of the Philippines. He was a crew member on large cargo aircraft, the C-124 and C-141.
The C-124 is a four engine propeller aircraft that has an opening at the nose of the plane that hinged upwards with hydraulic lifts, and was large enough to transport heavy equipment like tanks, bulldozers and trucks, or be outfitted to carry as many as 200 fully equipped soldiers or 127 wounded on litters, with their attendants, in a double decker cargo bay, according to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The C-141 cargo plane that followed had jet engines and a more streamlined design, and it was as a crew member on those aircraft that Bray said he saw a lot of the world. During the Vietnam War, Bray and other crew members provided supplies to soldiers.
“I got to see a lot of places; when I’m talking to some people and they say they have never been out of Missouri, that amazes me,” reflected Bray. “I’ve had a good Air Force career, and now they’re taking care of me.”
After his retirement from the Air Force, he went to work pouring foundations for buildings and became an over-the-road trucker for Judd Enterprises for about 13 years.
He was a single father to three for several years. A daughter, Robin Renee, died in 2006, and a son, James Bray, Jr., died in 2020. Dora Bray Magilke, his only surviving child, has moved back to West Plains from Kimberling City to help care for him.
On Tuesday morning, Bray was making plans to exercise one of the rights he helped fight to preserve: the right to vote.
Bray has been a member of AMVETS Post 98 since about 1991, having joined after he moved back to Howell County. He and wife Fran are both lifetime members of AMVETS and the AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary, respectively, having served about 24 years. James served as a Commander at AMVETS Post 98 for about five years total, and as a District Commander for about nine years. The district covers an area of Missouri from Sikeston in Scott County to Isabella in Ozark County.
He’s also served in the Honor Guard, whose members represent the branches of the armed forces as flag bearers at parades and perform other duties, including military funeral ceremonies, and he was on the committee that helped establish the Veterans Memorial at the corner of Broadway and Porter Wagoner Boulevard at People’s Park. It honors veterans of all branches of the military.
Jim organized the main fundraiser for the AMVETS Memorial, an annual golf tournament, and Fran Bray was part of the efforts to bring the Vietnam War memorial wall to West Plains several years ago.
