Ray was born into a family of 3 children in northern NH in 1923. Sadly he would never know his mom. There is a discrepancy with Ray’s birthdate, as his mother died “during or around the time Ray was born”. So Ray never really knew if his birthday was his birthday, or the day his mother passed, or both. Ray was sent to live with a kind family named Johnson, in Bethlehem NH. In some of the Adams family genealogy searches, Ray has been left off the family tree, as if he never existed. Ray was known for a time as Ray Johnson, but after some years, he took his own name Adams back again and was drafted into WW2 at the age of 20.  Ray served as a Private First Class in the China Burma India Theater. He was assigned to Company 1877 Battalion Engineer AVN.

My Dad never spoke of his time in the Army, but I have done some research to find out where he may have been stationed, and what jobs he had while in India. His battalion I found out was charged with the building of airfields. These airfields were a refueling and stopping point before flying The Hump.  “Flying the Hump” was the dangerous air route over the Himalayas that supplied China during WW2. The route was a lifeline to China after the Japanese occupied Burma. Construction of the Assam airfields needed to be completed on time, as the bombers due to arrive in a matter of months. The current troops of India and Brittan working on the project, “failed to provide adequate labor to get the job done”, so US troops were brought in .  All the following airfields , Chabua, Daya, Chakulia, Nawadih, and Gushkara were completed on time ! The project included laying 100 miles of 4 inch pipeline, and 70 miles of 6 inch pipeline to deliver gasoline to various airfields. It was a vital refueling point before The Hump, that the Flying Tigers and other Bombers would use.