March 10, 2021 – There are 4,048 gold stars lining a curved wall, called the Freedom Wall, at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in the nation’s capital. It opened in 2004 to honor the 405,399 American men and women of the Armed Forces who did not return home to family and friends. Sgt. John Ray, a paratrooper from Louisiana with the U.S Army’s 82nd Airborne who landed behind enemy lines on D-Day, is one of those fallen heroes.

Paula Freeman met Pvt. John Ray in spring 1941 when he came home to Gretna, Louisiana for his mother’s funeral. John had enlisted in the U.S. Army on Jan. 9, 1941. Paula and John began exchanging letters. The 82nd Airborne was reactivated on March 25, 1942. John began training as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne, first at Fort Benning, Georgia and then at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. They fell in love and were married on March 7, 1943 when John had a few days of furlough. John then deployed to North Africa and Italy and finally, to Normandy, France for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944.

Paula never saw John again after their wedding.

Paula and John’s family had no information about him until July 1944 when they were told John had been slightly wounded. Paula kept sending letters but thought it odd she did not receive any letters from him as he was recuperating. In September, Paula began the school year teaching at a local elementary school. The Ray family received a telegram. John had died on June 7, 1944 from injuries sustained on D-Day. Paula was given one week off of work, the standard time off for teachers who lost their husband. She then returned to the classroom.

Paula remarried in 1947 and raised three children. After her husband died in 1994, Paula opened a cedar chest she had not opened in 50 years. Inside were 333 love letters and souvenirs. John had sent those to her from 1941-1944 during his training in the United States and his service overseas. His last letter is dated June 6, 1944.

John’s letters form the basis of Paula’s 2004 book, Treasures in My Heart: A true WWII love story.

National D-Day Museum opens in New Orleans in 2000

On June 6, 2000, the 56th anniversary of D-Day, Paula and her family attended the D-Day parade in New Orleans where the new National D-Day Museum (now The National World War II Museum) was opening. Stephen Ambrose (1936-2002) founded the museum. Ambrose was an historian and author of Band of Brothers (1992), a book and movie about the men of Easy Company and the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, the Screaming Eagles.

The museum tells the story of the 16 million men and women who served in the military during WWII and the tens of millions of civilians who supported them in various capacities on the Home Front. Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2020, the museum is one of the most popular museums in the country.

For 56 years, Paula did not know how John died. From connections she made in New Orleans in 2000, she met Ken Russell. He was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne who jumped with John on D-Day. On a phone call, Ken told Paula all of the tragic details of John’s death.

Ken and another paratrooper were caught on church spires when they landed in the center of Sainte-Mère-Église early on June 6, 1944. John landed on the church as well but fell to the ground where a German soldier immediately shot him in the stomach. Mortally wounded, John watched as the German soldier turned to shoot his fellow paratroopers caught on the spires. John was able to grab his gun, shoot the German soldier to save his two friends. John died the next day.

In September 2000, Ken and Paula met in France. Together they visited John’s grave in the Normandy American Cemetery, located on a bluff overlooking Omaha Beach. John is one of 9,385 American military personnel buried there.

Paula’s story is an important part of WWII Home Front history because her story represents millions of others. Gold star banners hung in windows in hundreds of thousands of homes across the country after families received a telegram or a knock on their door to inform them their loved one had been killed.

Paula went to see the movie – The Sullivans – about a family from Waterloo, Iowa who lost five sons when the ship (USS Juneau) they were serving on together was hit by a torpedo and sank during the November 1942 Battle of Guadalcanal. Their parents and sister promoted the sale of war bonds. Paula wrote to John to tell him she had purchased a $75 war bond and wished she could do more.

Women who worked in factories during WWII recall women returning to work the next day after losing their husband, brother or son because they felt an obligation to work so other women would not have to endure the same grief.

On the back cover of her book, Paula writes that her goal in writing the book “is to tell the world about this brave young man and to give him the honor, respect, and gratitude that is due him.”

Paula passed away on July 16, 2019. She was 95.

Author’s note: In 2009, I learned of Sgt. John Ray’s service and ultimate sacrifice while covering the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy. Standing in the Sainte-Mère-Église town square near the Normandy coast where Sgt. Ray was wounded on D-Day, it was difficult to picture what had happened there 65 years earlier. To this day, the small church in the town square honors Allied paratroopers with a stained-glass window and a parachute hanging from a church spire. In 2009, French homes were flying Allied flags from their windows to honor the anniversary. Our tour group then visited Sgt. Ray’s grave at the Normandy American Cemetery. One can only imagine the emotion Paula felt as she visited John’s grave for the first time in 2000. Let’s keep this history alive.

Book information

Treasures in My Heart: A true WWII love story by Paula Guidry, 2004. (ISBN: 0-595-30818-X)

Available on Amazon or at  iUniverse. www.iuniverse.com (eBook version also available)

Lesson idea: The 333 letters are chronologically presented with some notes and a prologue/epilogue by Paula to add context. Divide the class into groups of 3-4 students and assign each group to read letters from a certain time frame. After reading the letters, prepare a class presentation covering the entire book. Research the 101st and 82nd Airborne, U.S. Army soldiers who trained as WWII paratroopers in Georgia at Fort Benning and Camp Toccoa, and include in the presentation.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. When did John and Paula meet?

2. When were John and Paula married?

3. What type of soldier was John in the U.S. Army?

4. When and where was John killed?

5. What job did Paula have in 1944?

6. How did Paula finally learn how John died?

INQUIRY QUESTIONS

1. How does Paula’s story represent millions of other stories as well?

2. What emotions do you think Paula had as she visited John’s grave for the first time in 2000?

3. It’s often said soldiers who die in war give the “ultimate sacrifice.” Discuss the societal impact of that sacrifice with John and Paula as examples.

4. Read the headline again. Why do you think that headline was chosen for the story?