The years have passed since I played with Ray Ranellucci on his parents' farm in Rennsaeler, New York. At the time we were only 8 years old and filled with life. We lived in different parts of New York but we always managed to stay in touch by mail. As time went on and we grew, our lives somehow lost touch during our early teen-age years and naturally the growing pains, but we still never forgot each other. Ray finshed high school and immediately enlisted in the Marines. He knew he wanted to serve and we both knew it was his destiny. The news of his death sent such shock waves though me, because he was so young and had so much life to enjoy. His mother could never recover from Ray's loss and she died shortly after of what we believed to be a "broken heart". Ray is and was loved by many and his memory carries on in the hearts of us that knew him and were touched by his presence. He is gone but never forgotten. He will always be to me the 8 year boy who loved to jump into a pile of fresh cut hay and laugh at such silly boyish pranks. You gave your life for your country but you gave me much more, which was the life we shared our innocences. The final chapter to your life has not been written because there is no closure to one so loved and remembered. Love Jim Marsh 04 March 2002 Photograph provided by Howard B. Matthews, Jr., Sergeant, United States Marine Corps, who entered the Corps with Raymond Ranellucci, 14 Feb 1965.

 

A memorial from a friend, James Gerard Marsh marshjam@de.ibm.com  21 Aug 2001

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