[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 23 (Monday, February 8, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S570]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO COLONEL RAY RENOLA

  Mr. REED. Madam President, today I pay tribute to a very special 
Rhode Islander, COL Ray Renola, USA (Ret.), who holds a unique 
distinction among all Americans.
  Mr. Renola, at 104 years old, is the oldest living graduate of my 
alma mater, the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. A member of the 
class of 1940, Mr. Renola stands at the head of the Long Grey Line of 
West Pointers who have served the Nation since 1802.
  As described in a recent column by Mark Patinkin in the Providence 
Journal, Ray was the son of Italian immigrants and one of eight 
children raised on the West End of Providence. He was a graduate of 
Classical High School in Providence and then entered Brown University, 
but in 1936, he made the decision to serve his country and restart and 
complete his college education at West Point.
  Like many of our World War II veterans, Ray did not talk much about 
his service on the western front as a lieutenant colonel and commanding 
officer of the 375th Field Artillery Battalion. In short, he deployed 
his battalion and led them against fierce enemy resistance, 
unpredictable weather, harsh terrain, and austere conditions. And he 
led them as they made great contributions to Allied forces during the 
push toward Berlin in 1944-1945. After the war, Ray continued his 
service to our country with postings from Belgium to the Pentagon, 
before retiring from the military after 20 years of service. He had a 
similarly successful career in the private sector, working for Bulova 
and GTE.
  He found the love of his life with Lucille, to whom he was married 
for 30 years, until her passing in 2010. They shared an active life of 
sport and travel. He remains the loved and revered patriarch of the 
larger, extended Renola family.
  Ray embodies what it means to live an extraordinary life: love for 
his country; love for his family; a life of duty, honor, and country.

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