Ray O. Roberts

Melbourne, Florida

Ray O. Roberts, 92, died Monday, March 9, 2015, at his home. He was born in Charleston, S.C. and moved to Brevard County in 1976.

Ray retired as a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force after serving 32 years as a Fighter and Test Pilot. He survived combat in WW II, and in the Korean and Vietnam Conflicts, where he flew over 110 combat sorties. Ray has the rare distinction of being awarded the highest honor a pilot can receive, the Distinguished Flying Cross Medal…. twice.

Ray received his first Distinguished Flying Cross Medal for his combat service in the Korean Conflict, where he volunteered to fly numerous dangerous missions and successfully brought his damaged aircraft to the base each time. President Johnson awarded Ray his second DFC for flying the experimental F-111 airplane, the first sweep wing fighter bomber, over the Atlantic Ocean to the 1967 Paris Air Show. Ray was also awarded 3 Air Medals, and the Bronze Star Medal for heroism during combat in Korea for serving with the South Korean ground forces to direct air strikes behind enemy lines.

After retiring from the Air Force, Ray became a consultant to the Shah of Iran’s Air Force teaching their pilots how to fly combat aircraft. He was on the last commercial plane to leave Tehran’s airport after the Iranian Revolutionary forces overran the City and began killing Americans. Finally, he accepted a job with TRW at Kennedy Space Center where he served as an Engineer for Space Shuttle Landing Systems.

In 2005, Ray received the honor of having his name placed on the first Distinguished Flying Cross Plaque at the Smithsonian’s Hazy Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia. His name appears on the same Plaque that honors John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, and other distinguished flyers like Amelia Earhart, an acknowledgement that he was one of the best pilots of his generation.

Ray was a member of numerous clubs and organizations, including the Valiant Air Command, the Order of the Quiet Birdman, the American Legion, the Shriners, and the Royal Order of Jesters. He loved to volunteer as a guide at the Air Force Air and Missile Museum and talk about his beloved airplanes and flying.

Ray is survived by his son Charles Roberts of Stafford, Virginia; his daughter Marsha Smith of Denver, Colorado; grandchildren Lisa Dillard, Jacquelyn Lallis, and Christi Finley; great grandchildren Jackson Dillard, Courtney Hulett, Taylor Hulett, his siblings Thomas Roberts, Lewis Roberts, and Nina Mallis.

A Reception will be held at the Life Event Center at Florida Memorial Gardens at 1:00pm Saturday March 21, 2015. The Ceremony honoring Ray’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the same location. Both are open to the public.