Ray Malone has been named veteran of the year by the AMVETS post in Bowling Green.
Malone, of Bowling Green, is modest about his new ranking.
"There are a lot of other guys who deserve it," said Malone, who now lives in BG Manor nursing
home. "They deserve it. I don’t."
Malone, who was born in 1922, joined the Navy in 1938 – at the age of 16.
"I lied a little bit, I guess," he said. But he yearned for the adventure of military life.
"I was young and there wasn’t much doin.’ There wasn’t any jobs. And I figured I could get a fairly
good education."
Why the Navy?
"I didn’t like marching," he said.
He made it through boot camp and was assigned to the USS Nevada.
But once it was discovered he was underage, Malone was given an honorable discharge.
However, he re-enlisted during World War II.
"I started thinking about all the guys on the Nevada that got hit," he said.
Malone was assigned to the USS Alabama in the South Pacific, where he focused on repair work.
"Whatever they wanted done, I done," he said.
Malone was in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945 when Japan surrendered.
"I could even see Harry Truman on the Missouri," he said.
Malone was discharged in January 1946.
He spent 29 years working in employee relations administration at Bowling Green State University, where
he worked for six different university presidents.
He was married to his wife, Alice, for 56 years; she is deceased. They raised three children, Danny, Mike
and Kay, all who have retired from BGSU.