Major Cornelius L. “Neil” Gray is the epitome of military bravery and sacrifice. He served more than 27 years in the military and in three major wars earning three bronze stars. Most of Gray’s service in World War II was in south Asia, initially as a weather observer in India, later training with the British paratroopers and then with the Office of Strategic Services in guerrilla tactics and survival techniques.
In June 1945, Neil, his lieutenant and two Burmese soldiers parachuted into Burma behind Japanese lines. Their mission: gather intelligence on the enemy, their effect on local Burmese life, weather, Allied POWs, and build good will and partnerships with local tribal fighters. After training 650 tribal guerillas, Neil and his comrades lived in the harsh jungle all the while being hunted by as many as 1,900 Japanese soldiers and 45 dogs. Neil and his team were retrieved by the British Navy after 77 days when the war ended.
Neil Gray was recalled to active duty in 1951 and was assigned to the 7th Infantry Division as a 2nd Lieutenant during the Korean War. At the cessation of hostilities, he was the last man out of the 7th Division’s sector of the DMZ. Attached to the 1st Marine Division during the prisoner exchange, he was one of the twelve intelligence specialists charged with debriefing returning American POWs and discovered the extent to which our soldiers were brainwashed by the communists.
After Korea, Neil stayed in the Army, specializing in the fields of nuclear weapon security, intelligence and counterintelligence. During the Vietnam War, Major Gray was assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, serving as commanding officer of that unit’s military intelligence detachment in 1966 and ’67. He retired from the Army in 1968.
In civilian life, Neil Gray made use of his specialized skills working with the Atomic Energy Commission’s Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and then with General Dynamic’s Electric Boat Division.