Raymond Seay, 88, was just 19 when he joined the U.S. Marine Corps, and was on Iwo Jima in February 1945 when the iconic flag raising took place on the island.
Today, 63 years later, U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) presented Seay with the medals that he earned during the war, at a ceremony at the Federal Courthouse in downtown Rome.
“The real story here is what (Seay) did during the war,” Gingrey said after he presented Seay with the medals, which included the American Defense Service Medal, a World War II victory medal, an Asiatic Pacific Service Medal and a Presidential Unit Citation with a bronze star.
Seay served in the Pacific theater at Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands and Iwo Jima. He said to an assembled group of Marine veterans that his service had a purpose.
“All these things that happen to you, it makes you a better person,” he said.
The Marine Corps League’s local detachment No. 1020 also presented the Fort Oglethorpe resident with a small bag of sand from Iwo Jima, where Seay served with the 5th Marines during the first days of the battle.
“It’s an honor to receive my medals,” Seay said. “It reminded me of so many memories being in the Marines.”
Seay never received his medals after his service in the war. His daughter, Becky Lynch, went to a veterans workshop to find out about the benefits her father could receive for his service and found out that one of the many services the government will perform is reissuing medals.
Lynch said that after filling out the paperwork and going through the process, Gingrey’s office paved the way for the ceremony so Gingrey could present the medals himself.
“They were so instrumental in getting this done,” Lynch said. “This was so precious, and it’s been amazing for him and the rest of us in the family.”
Seay served for more than six years in the Marines before serving as a pastor in numerous churches for 50 years in Alabama, South Carolina, Texas and around Georgia.
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