A house RESOLUTION

 

To honor and remember the supreme sacrifice made by Army SpEcialist 4 RAy Anthony Ruth of walterboro on December 12, 1985, and to express the profound appREciation of a grAtEful state and nation for his life, sacrifice, and service.

 

Whereas, with deep appreciation, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives pause in their deliberations to honor and remember the great sacrifice made by Army Specialist 4 Ray Anthony Ruth, along with 256 others, in December of 1985; and

 

Whereas, on December 12, 1985, Army Specialist 4 Ray Ruth, along with 247 other soldiers were on their way home from a peacekeeping deployment in the Sinai. The plane carrying soldiers mostly from the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, crashed shortly after taking off from a refueling stop in Gander, Newfoundland. All 248 soldiers and the plane's eight crew members were killed. This tragedy was the largest loss of life in a single event and day that this division has ever experienced. The United States Army has marked the anniversary of the crash every year since it happened, celebrating the lives and sacrifices of every brave service member aboard; and

 

Whereas, Ray Anthony Ruth, a native of Walterboro, was the eldest of five children born to Nathaniel and Sarah Joerena Ruth. He enjoyed fishing and hunting with his father and played baseball for a local team growing up. He attended Walterboro High School and joined the Army upon graduation. He had planned to make the Army his career. At 24, and four years into the Army, he was an Army Specialist 4 radio operator and had been stationed in New Jersey, Georgia, Columbia, and West Germany before he was assigned to this six-month peacekeeping mission in the Middle East; and

 

Whereas, Army Specialist 4 Ray Anthony Ruth was laid to rest on Friday, February 21, 1986, at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church. His family was presented with the United States flag, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Superior Unit Award, the Multinational Service Medal, and the Multinational Force and Observers Beret by Brigadier General Robert Chelberg, the deputy commander at Fort Jackson; and

 

Whereas, the South Carolina General Assembly is honored to remember the life and sacrifice of Ray Anthony Ruth, a brave son and hero of the Palmetto State. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, honor and remember the supreme sacrifice made by Army Specialist 4 Ray Anthony Ruth of Walterboro on December 12, 1985, and to express the profound appreciation of a grateful State and nation for his life, sacrifice, and service.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Ray Anthony Ruth.

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