“When Ray Williamson entered West Point from White Plains, N. Y., after a year at Amherst College and a trip around the world, he was considerably better educated and more mature than the average boy of his age. Not only was Ray well prepared culturally and intellectually but he also had had the foresight to acquire considerable skill in the manly art of self defense. His proficiency in the latter respect not only won him many laurels on the boxing squad but also quickly enlightened any one who mistook his natural refinement for lack of fortitude, and this without any demonstration outside of the gymnasium. Ray took all the trials and vicissitudes of plebe year with a philosophical attitude and worked steadily toward his objective of meeting all the standards of the Military Academy in a creditable manner. That he succeeded in large measure is attested not only by his Cadet rank of Captain and his class standing but by the warm devotion and respect that he instilled in the hearts of his classmates.
As a cadet, Ray Williamson exemplified all the high qualities expected by the Military Academy. He was intelligent, conscientious and sincere in his efforts to uphold the highest ideals of West Point. As a classmate and friend he was loyal, kind and devoted. He scorned all pretense and hypocrisy
but still had great compassion and understanding of human frailty. It is therefore not surprising that his cadet days were but a forecast of the distinguished military career that was to follow.”
The above tribute is from Bill Whittington, Ray’s cadet roommate.
After graduation and short tours at Fort Riley and Fort Logan, Texas. Ray went to France with the 157 FA Brigade. For his World War I service Ray received the French Legion of Honor and the Belgian Croix de Guerre.
After a year in Germany with the 1st Division, Ray served until August, 1922, as a troop commander at Fort Myer with additional duty as Junior Aide to the White House. Following this tour he was a student at Harvard University, preparatory to detail at West Point in the newly established Department of Economics and Government under Professor Holt.
I got to know Ray quite well during this tour, particularly during the period when we shared an apartment in the BOQ. He was a warmhearted, entertaining, unselfish and modest man who typified the true gentleman. He was a well bred man of fine feelings; a man of gentle, refined manners. Ray’s sense of numor was of the finest type. In his anecdotes he made no one but himself the butt of a joke; Ray laughed at himself, not at others. With it all he had a quiet persistence and a moral courage that was guided by principle, not by expediency.
The bachelor menage was broken up in 1924 when Ray married a lovely and attractive Navy girl, Anne Bryan, daughter of Rear Admiral B. C. Bryan. Tnis was the beginning of a happy and ideal marriage. Surviving him are Anne and his three daughters: Marianne, wife of Major Louis X. Cleary, Alice, wife of Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Sweeney, and Louise. He was a most devoted husband and father.
In a second tour at West Point as a Company Tac and Assistant Commandant, Ray was known as a good disciplinarian and as a man liked and admired both by the cadets and the enlisted men of the detachment. He was an excellent judge of character and a natural leader. As evidence of his superior service during this tour he was selected to attend the Command and General Staff School in 1935. After duty as a squadron commander in 1937-38 he was detailed to the Army War College.
Ray embarked for the South Pacific in January, 1942 as A C&S G-1 of the Task Force, later known as the America Division. Promoted to Brigadier General in 1942, he served as Commanding General of two forward Service Commands which supported the Guadalcanal and New Georgia campaigns. His Legion of Merit citation for this service reads in part:—“These highly effective operations made possible by General Williamson’s superior handling of logistical responsibilities played a large part in the progress made by the U. S. Armed Forces in the South Pacific.”
In January, 1944 Ray was transferred to a combat assignment as Assistant Division Commander of the 91st Infantry Division in Italy, remaining with the Division until the end of the war in Europe. Some of the highlights of this service are indicated in the following excerpts of various citations: Bronze Star Medal, July 17, 1944-July 29, 1944—“As Commanding General of a task force, Brigadier General Williamson led the first allied forces into the cities of Leghorn and Pisa. His keen judgment, energy and devotion to duty coupled with his superior tactical ability made possible the liberation of these towns with a minimum of losses of the forces under his command." Silver Star, June 22, 1945, “For gallantry in action on April 30, 1945, in the vicinity of Vede-lago, Italy. When an enemy strong point held up forward Infantry elements of his Division, General Williamson went forward through machine gun and small arms fire to determine the best method of meeting the situation. He called for tanks...personally directed mortar fire and promptly routed the enemy force...Ray also received British and Italian decorations for service in Italy.
After the war Ray served successively as G-3, 2nd Army, Military Attache to Canada, as Assistant Division Commander of the 3rd Armored (Training) Division and later as the Division Commander. Secretary Pace, in a letter to Ray in 1951 stated: During my entire service as Secretary of the Army I have never been privileged to hear a more meaningful and effective message concerning the American soldier than the one delivered by you to your men.”
Ray ended his active duty as Military Attache in London. I have heard many individuals speak of his exceptionally kind and generous help to them while he was Attache, in Ottawa and in London. The outstanding service of this unusually gifted and versatile man as combat leader, staff officer and Military Attache was completed with his retirement in July, 1954.
After retirement Ray lived with his wife, Anne, in their home in the Pebble Beach area of Monterey, California. In June, 1957, an operation revealed cancer of the lungs and liver. Everything possible was done but the end was near. Knowing this, Ray preferred to return to his home which he loved so much. He faced the inevitable with his usual courage and cheerfulness and with faith and hope as a staunch Catholic.
Funeral services, attended by his many classmates in the Washington area, were held at the Fort Myer Chapel followed by internment in Arlington National Cemetery. May his Soul rest in peace.
—L. V. Warner August, 1917