James Stanley Page Rayburn USMC Lt. Col. Ret.

The son of Archa Archie Edward and Frances Grover Page, his birth certificate indicates he was born in San Antonio, TX on September 1, 1937. The date is correct; however, he may actually have been born in Pettus, TX. Whatever, his full name at birth was James Stanley Page.

He had fond memories of growing up in the country and associations with rodeos and cowboys. During his younger years, his Dad moved him to various places, including Boerne, TX. Later, his parents were divorced and he stayed with his Mother.

His travels took him from Boerne to San Antonio and Corpus Christi, TX, then to Quincy and Springfield, IL, and finally to the Houston, TX area. In Houston, while working at the VA Hospital, his Mom met and married Berry Rayburn and, in 1960, he changed his last name to Rayburn.

Jim graduated from San Jacinto High School in Houston in 1955. He then attended Southwest Texas State Teachers' College in San Marcos, TX for two years.

In June, 1957, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He served in the enlisted ranks from Pvt E-1 to GySgt E-7 and received a temporary commission as a 2nd Lt in Vietnam.

He applied for and was selected for the Permanent Warrant Office WO program and was promoted from WO1 to Chief WO4. While in the WO ranks, he was selected as a Limited Duty Officer LDO in the field of Signals Intelligence/Cryptology. He went on to attain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, the first in his field to be selected for that rank.

While enlisted, Jim was a manual Morse Code /Direction Finding operator, Traffic Analyst, Cryptanalyst, Intelligence Report Writer and Chinese Linguist. As an officer, he was heavily involved in Cryptologic Direct Support operations in Vietnam and the Mediterranean. He also served as the Commanding Officer of Company F Co F, Marine Support Battalion MSB, Rota, Spain; Co K, MSB, Pensacola, FL; and Co L, MSB, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In the latter assignment, he was dual-hatted as the Commanding Officer of the Naval Security Group Activity, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, one of the few marines to command a Navy organization.

Spending most of his 30 years overseas, Jim served twice in the Philippines plus tours in Germany, Spain, Okinawa, Vietnam, Hawaii twice and Cuba. His final assignment was with the Joint Electronic Warfare Center, San Antonio, TX.

His military awards include the Bronze Star with Combat "V", the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, two meritorious Service Medals, two Navy Commendation medals one with Combat "V" and numerous unit and campaign ribbons and medals.

Retiring from the Marine Corps in September, 1989, Jim had a brief hiatus from the work force. He then worked for a company called "Diamond Shamrock", first in the mail room then in the Wholesale Marketing with the Jobber Communications Department. He retired from Diamond Shamrock then "Ultramar Diamond Shamrock after nine years. A member of numerous marine Corps/military/cryptologic organizations, he was most active in the Marine Corps Cryptologic Association.

Jim is survived by his wife, Carolyn; daughter, Janeen; two granddaughters, Judy and Athena; and two grandsons, Douglas and David.