Jim Kegley's Scioto Voice High Notes for the qweek

Good WW II Story about a local hero, Jim!  My pilot friends will love the poem after the story,\.

Sam

High Notes 02-20-2014

 

Ray-Bob’s Variety Store was located on the corner of Hayport Road as it connects with Ohio River Road, in Wheelersburg, and it went out of business in 1972.  The site was the former Bob Evans Restaurant, now the Sakura Hibachi, 8360 Ohio River Rd.

According to Raymond Kemper, whom I spoke with on Monday, February 17, 2014, they used his name “Ray”, and the name “Bob” because Robert Crawford, (deceased) was his partner.

Ray had begun his long military/business career when he joined the U. S. Marine Corps in 1942 as a 17-year old.  Ray told me he saw plenty of action throughout the Pacific Theatre during WWII.  He was attached to the Navy Marine Air Corps, where he logged numerous missions in a two-man airplane, SBD2 Dauntless Scout dive bomber.  Ray was the second seat, support machine gunner and bombardier, with 2,000 rounds of 30 cal. Ammo, while the pilot had a twin 50 Cal. Machine guns with 1,000 rounds.  The plane carried two 250 pound wing mounted bombs and a 500 pound center mounted bomb.

The SB Douglas dive bombers were the highly successful aircraft used by American and British forces to defeat the Japanese in the Pacific.  They were manufactured by Douglas Aircraft from 1940 through 1944, and were flown from Navy aircraft carriers, and land bases.  It was the SBDs which inflicted the fatal blows on the Japanese Fleet during the battle of Midway.

After the Japanese surrendered officially on the battleship Missouri, in August, 1945, Sgt. Kemper was assigned the duty to accompany a small U. S. force into mainland China, where they accepted the surrender of over 300,000 Japanese soldiers, and helped administered the evacuation of the Japanese back to their homeland.  “The Japanese seemed polite and acted gentlemanly at the end, and they found their way back to Japan, on anything that would float.” Ray said.

Master Sgt Kemper, retired in 1974, after serving 32-years in the active duty Marines and reserves, and saw action in WW II, and Korea.  He worked with Eddy and Bernie Levi from 1973 until they closed the downtown Portsmouth Furniture Store in 1997.   Ray celebrated his 89^th birthday on Monday, February 17, 2014.  Early in his career he was assistant manager of Acme Paint Company in Portsmouth.

Ray is a slightly built, soft spoken, dapper gentleman who was married to his first wife, Joyce for 51-years.  He is presently married to Tamarka (Tammy Bachus) and they live on Bonser Road, Sciotoville.

 

High Flight

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,

And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;

Sunward, I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth

Of sun-split clouds – and done a hundred things

You have not dreamed of – wheeled and soared and swung

High in the sunlit silence.  Hov’ring there,

I’ve chased the shouting wind along and flung

My eager craft through footless halls of air.

Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,

Where never lark, or even eagle, flew.

Part of a poem published in Linda D. Swink’s book In Their Honor published by Little Miami Publishing Co., Milford, Ohio