Recently deceased long-term Lakeside resident Ray Mulhern, 90, was born and raised in Woodward, Iowa.
Sometime near the opening of hostilities in 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. Following his service in World War II, Mulhern joined the Ford Motor Company and finished his career as a marketing executive. During his working years he lived in Detroit, Green Bay and Pittsburgh.
Mulhern served in the original Underwater Demolition Teams, the forerunners of the U.S. Navy Seals. He earned his battle stars while serving in the bloodbath of Peleliu/Angaur, and the capture of Ulithi Atoll that became the U.S. Navy’s major staging base for the Marianas campaign, and later the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was awarded the bronze star for his actions on Angaur.
Mulhern is described by his friends as “the quintessential American of his time: a volunteer, patriot, a husband, a father, a friend and neighbor, a colleague at work, a citizen tax-payer and voter, a builder of the future … and an American hero: one of us.”
Mulhern outlived two wives and two sons. He is survived by a son and a step-daughter.
As Mulhern enjoyed spending much of his time at the American Legion in Chapala, Post Seven will hold a “last tattoo” for him on Thursday, October 6, 3 p.m.