He was a farmer and he loved the land. Ray Carter of Hedrick, Iowa died on April 26 of 1998.

Ray was a young Iowa farm boy when he entered the Air Corp on his 19th birthday, April 8th, 1943. He was sent to Miami, Florida for basic training. In August Ray was sent to Amarillo, Texas for six months of intensive B-17 mechanics training. Afterwards he went to gunnery school in the desert in Kingman, Arizona.

In 1944 Ray's crew left for England. On the 29th day of June they flew their first bombing mission over Germany. July saw them making nine missions. Planes were blown out of the sky, some were allied planes, some were enemy planes, but Ray knew that each one had a corps of men in it and many lives were lost.

On August 6th the crew flew over Poland. One of their engines was hit and they barely made it to Russia. While being repaired the squad stayed in Russia. After 23 days they were able to fly back to England.

In 1944 Ray and the crew flew 20 more bombing missions. The rule was that each team made 35 missions over Germany and then was sent back to the United States for a rest. Thousands of young men never returned from those bombing missions. Thirty-seven years later the crew members and their wives met in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to remember the experiences they had while stationed in England. Eight of the ten attended the reunion.

Ray's squad returned to the United States on ships and he was sent to the La Junta, Colorado Air Base. The La Junta airport was home to nearly 4,000 servicemen who trained pilots and crews to fly B-25 bombers.

In April of 1944 my sister Lois went bowling with a friend and there she met and started dating Ray. World War II ended in 1945. That October Ray was sent to Denver for his discharge from the Air Corp.

After his release from the service Ray worked for the Santa Fe Railroad in La Junta and lived in a room he had rented from my Grandparents. But because he was homesick for the land, Ray returned to Iowa and went to work for a farmer. He and my sister wrote to each other.

On January 18 of 1946 Ray came to La Junta and he and Lois went to Raton, New Mexico and got married. Lois stayed at home to finish school and graduate. Ray came back for her graduation and they moved to a farm in Iowa near Hedrick.

When I was in my sophomore year of high school I turned rebellious and tried to quit school. My mother contacted my sister to see if I could finish my school in Iowa. Ray could have said "no" when I wanted to live with them, but he didn't. Their home was my home for two years.

We lived on a dirt road. When it rained I had to walk two miles of muddy road to the bus. There were many days that Ray took me to school on the tractor.

They were struggling farmers, but when the school board objected to the expense of putting me in school Ray quietly paid my tuition. I only found out he had paid my tuition from my sister, he never mentioned it. All of Ray's family lived in the area. They were farmers and they treated me like one of them. I was welcomed. I loved the big family reunions. I stayed all night with his folks. Grandma Carter fixed delicious breakfasts that I've never forgotten, fluffy biscuits, home ground sausage and gravy.

Ray let me drive his pick-up and he protected me, even at times I didn't want to be protected. Just like any brother and sister we had our arguments. I never had another brother.

Because he opened his home and his heart to me I got two years of a happy farm life I'll never forget. No brother could have been nicer to me.

I saw Ray in March of this year and even though he had been sick for sometime he could still visit and joke. On April 25 of 1998, the day before he died Ray was outside looking at the farm. He loved his land and had worked hard all his life. Besides farming he worked at the John Deere factory in Ottumwa, Iowa for many years. Ray's son, Jim inherited his father's love for the land and he is farming it now.

Although he was my brother-in-law, Ray Carter was more like a brother to me. I'll miss you, Ray.