File:Raymond Cleo Gill (1919-2003) in the Argus-Leader of Sioux Falls, South Dakota on December 21, 1942.jpg

The Ray Gills of America. What a transformation the war has effected in the lives of many young men! We remember Ray Gill as a lanky youngster in The Argus-Leader's mechanical department. He was an apprentice printer a rather quiet, unassuming person with a pleasant smile. He was eager to learn and busied himself with the routine of his department Occasionally we visited with him while he made some typographical adjustments on the editorial page. His was the customary work of an apprentice in a printing office. He moved the type which had been used, shoved forms around, took proofs, ran some errands and generally made himself useful. Now we see him pictured in The Argus-Leader a stalwart soldier wearing a flier's costume. Also pictured is a souvenir which he had acquired, a pair of wings from a Nazi pilot. In addition there is a photograph of Gill removing the wings from the captured enemy. Gill is now a technical sergeant, serving as a gunner for a flying fortress. His job represents a peak in glamour and adventure, more thrilling than anything depicted in the stories of old. Regularly he soars high into the skies in a modern battleship of the air, moving at the speed of the wind, actually much faster than that, to engage in battle with the enemy. He is in a grim business now a career of high tension, of extraordinary skill, of daring and of stamina. It is a far cry, indeed, from the quiet, the security and the routine of The Argus-Leader's composing room to the embattled skies above the blazing sands of North Africa and the blue waters of the Mediterranean. But in both spots, it is a job. He did that job well at The Argus-Leader. And now he is doing his job well in the armed forces. The Ray Gills of America are the heroes of their country today the valiant defenders of their homes and of their nation. Dally they risk their lives for a principle and for a cause. They are demonstrating that they are worthy of the great heritage that is the lot of all Americans.

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