September 11th impacted each of us in our own way. For Ray Flores, a sophomore at Findlay High School in 2001, the catastrophic events of that day gave him initial thoughts of enlisting in the United States Military. By the time he graduated from FHS, we “already had boots on the ground in Iraq. I knew I had to join and do my time. I wanted to live the rest of my life feeling proud that I stepped up when the country called. Had I not joined, I would never have that.”
Now 22 years old, Flores is a Corporal in the United States Marine Corps. He enlisted in the military right after high school and completed his Basic Training at Parris Island, South Carolina. Since then he’s been to Camp Foster in Okinawa, Japan and then spent some time in Pohang, S. Korea and the Philippines. He came back to the States in February 2007 and was in MCAS in New River, North Carolina. From there, Flores had his own boots on the ground in Iraq and has returned back to the States now and is serving in North Carolina, where he resides with his wife Amanda.
Ray is the son of Jon and Laurie Poland of Findlay and Hank and Miriam Flores of North Baltimore. He has two sisters, Ashley and Rachel Flores in North Baltimore and three brothers, Nathan Flores of North Baltimore, Gabriel Poland in Findlay and Travis Poland in Norfolk, Virginia..
Flores says his parents have been his biggest inspiration, “ hands down… “ He goes on to say that “Most people have two (parents), but I feel all most lucky that I have four outstanding parents. The things instilled in me as a child are the things that pushed me to succeed in the Marine Corps. Anyone raised
with discipline, integrity, respect and responsibility as standards for everyday life cannot go wrong in this world, it's just not possible.”
