The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, PFC Raymond John Aquino, who died in the service of his country on January 19th, 1970 in Binh Dinh Province, Vietnam. The cause of death was listed as Small Arms/AW. At the time of his death Raymond was 21 years of age. He was from Chicago, Illinois. Raymond is honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Panel 14W, Line 45.

The decorations earned by PFC Raymond John Aquino include: the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm Unit Citation.

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Raymond is buried in the Municipal Cemetery in Guaynabo, PR

(From Diane)

My first date was a blind date, Ray. He was a gentleman, as I was 16 and he, 20. We did a lot of driving around, listening and singing to the radio and making light talk. He had an old car that dumped exhaust fumes inside, and a floor that was rotted away. I'm sure he tried to make our dates as nice as possible, as he obviously had little money to spend. The thing I was very impressed about was that he would travel from downtown Chicago to the suburbs to pick me up every Saturday night for a 2 hour date. He was drafted about a year after we met, and we wrote to each other. When I was just 18 years old in 1970, 3 of my letters were returned and a letter from the army. I wished I wrote him more often and sent more packages, as he always enjoyed it so much. Thank you, Ray, for giving your life for all of us. I have always thought of you on May 16.