A profile of courage: World War II veteran Ray Weber, 102, recounts a very full life

Nov. 11—TRAVERSE CITY — Imagine, in the year 2023, being able to say that you lived through some of the most notable moments in U.S. history: the Great Depression, the Space Race, the Kennedy assassination, the entirety of the Cold War, Vietnam and Watergate; not to mention more recent events, such as the birth of the digital age, 9/11 and, now, the COVID-19 pandemic.

At 102, Traverse City resident and World War II veteran Ray Weber can say just that.

Weber, a tech sergeant in the U.S. Army, served from 1942 to the end of the war in 1945.

He served with the 554E Engineer Heavy Ponton Battalion, also known as the "Michigan Engineers."

Before then, however, Weber recalls his childhood in Northern Michigan.

"My siblings and I were all born and raised in Kingsley," he says. "Nine boys, two girls — and I was fourth from the top."

He shared how simple times were then, in the 1930's during the Depression. "We walked to school in the snow, on unplowed roads. They weren't even gravel back then, let alone the blacktop we have now."

But despite how tough times were then, Weber says his family worked hard, and had all that they needed. "We had our chores to do, before we even went to school. Living was frugal back then, of course. But living on a farm we had all of our basic needs; corn, potatoes, and beans."

He also went on to share how sense of community was different then, too. "Neighbors were neighbors," he says, "If they were two miles away, they were still your neighbor."

At the turn of the decade, Weber found himself working full-time in Detroit, moving downstate in search of better opportunities as many of his friends did. It was then that he recalls where he was when the nation's next major conflict started.

"I remember coming out of the theater that night (Dec. 7, 1941), and there on the marquee was a big sign that said 'Japanese attack Pearl Harbor,' and I thought to myself, 'Where the hell is Pearl Harbor?'" he exclaims. "I had no idea where it even was at that point."

It was a day or two later that Weber and his friends from school (also in Detroit) went to the local recruiter, asking to join the United States Marine Corps. Unfortunately, Weber didn't get his wish, "They wouldn't take me because I had flat feet," he says, "but, three months later, Uncle Sam came back and said, 'I want YOU, (a reference to James M. Flagg's famous recruiting poster).

So then, in February of 1942 Weber found himself being shipped off to Camp Swift, Texas, to complete his basic training. "I remember guys falling out because of all the weight we carried, along with the heat," he says.

After several months of training and learning his primary military occupation, he and his unit would find themselves heading to Scotland first, and then down to Reading, England.

As an engineer with the "Famous Five Fifty-Fourth," the mission given to Weber's unit was to build bridges anywhere they were needed, along with other jobs when called upon. "Building each was about an 8- or 9-hour job" he says. "I was a welder with H&S Company." He also states that the battalion alone was roughly 320 men.

After crossing the English Channel, his unit made their way through France, following the Roer River. "We went through all of France, Belgium, Holland, and then into Germany," he says.

Weber and the 554E Engineer Battalion would complete bridges over the Roer, Rhine, Weser and Elbe rivers, all considered major estuaries in Europe. Doing so ensured that the 9th Army made it from France, all the way into Mageburg, Germany. "We were just going until the Germans stopped us."

"It was a dangerous job," Weber recalls. "We lost eight men alone on that Rhine River job." He recounts on that particular day that it just took "one shot, an 88 shell. They [the lost] were all medics. It had hit a weapons carrier, and they were all in the back."

Weber opened up to share one of the more troubling experiences they faced while in country. "The worst thing we had witnessed was when ... we had come across where a bunch of Jews had been locked away in a barn. They had spread hay all around the barn, and it was lit on fire. It was over by the time we got there. I don't talk much about it, because it was just so inhuman ... what Hitler had done."

Six of Weber's siblings also served in the armed forces, although only he and his brother served overseas. "My brother and I were the only two to leave the United States, but I got to see him once in Belgium."

"They had gotten the hell bombed out of them the night before, but he had been down in the foxhole where they couldn't get hit. They were pretty shaken up when I saw him. But we had ourselves a short visit before I had to go back to my own battalion."

They didn't get to see or hear from one another again until they were both home safe in December 1945.

"When it was time to come home, the Salvation Army was there for us with a quart of milk and a donut for each man," Weber said, noting how the simple things meant so much in that moment. "Keep in mind we didn't have fresh milk over there, just powdered milk and cans of ham and eggs. And you were considered pretty damn lucky if you found any ham." He laughs.

Rather than going back to Detroit, Weber found himself retreating back to Northern Michigan.

For many service members, after being gone for so long, the thought of staying in service wasn't as appealing as the idea of coming home and being back with families. He was no exception.

"You want to go back to what normal people are doing," he recalls. "I'm glad I went into the service. Although there was a time when I considered going back in."

But, when it came down to it, he was ready to settle down. So, that fall, when he made it home, he went back to manual labor. "My brother and I worked together to help our neighbor harvesting potatoes. Compared to combat, it was different," he says with a grin.

"I was 23 when I got out of the service, and 28 when I got married ... I kept looking around to find the right one," he says with a chuckle. "Before I ever got to the service I was chasing around with the wrong girl that was living 5 or 6 miles from me.

"And there she was the whole time — just a mile a quarter from where I lived."

His wife died in 2001, after suffering from multiple sclerosis. He carries her memory with him. "After that, I never found anyone that came close to what I had before."

At 20, Weber joined the U.S. Army with a willingness, readiness, and fortitude to serve his country, and fight for the men working to the left and right of him.

Now, at 102, he looks back at his own history with a smile, as he expresses both pride and humility for the life he has lived — and for his service to country.

"We felt that we owed it to this nation to serve, we didn't try to renege on them," Weber said. "We just did what we were asked to do."