Joining the Marine Corps shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Corporal Raymond J. Hubert trained as a Paramarine. When his unit was disbanded in 1944, he was transferred to the 5th Marine Division, and by the age of 20, was already a veteran of Bougainville, Guadalcanal, and Saipan.

He last saw his family in February of 1944, on what was to be his final furlough home to Wisconsin. At that time, he told his brother Lawrence he did not expect to return.

Ray sailed to Iwo Jima on the USS Dickens, an attack transport ship attached to Transport Group ABLE, in TransDiv 48. The task force stopped at Eniwetok, then proceeded to Saipan, where he was transfered to LST 1033. After landing exercises at Tinian, LST 1033 left for Iwo Jima, arriving on the morning of Feb. 19, 1945.

At 0902, Ray, the leader of his Machine Gun Squad, landed on Green Beach with Company B - nicknamed "Bobo's Bastards" – as part of the 1st Battalion of the 28th Marine Regimental Combat Team, near the base of Suribachi. Just minutes later on the opposite flank of the invasion beaches, Ray's cousin Tim, a corpsman attached to the Fourth Marine Division, landed with his medical team.

Ray's battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jackson B. Butterfield, with Companies B and C leading the way, moved to the west, clearing a path for the 2nd Battalion to turn south to Suribachi after coming ashore. After making a costly drive 700 yards from Green Beach to the west coast of Iwo Jima, some elements of B Company reached their objective by 1035, and Suribachi was cut off from the remainder of the island.

For the next four days, the 1st Battalion participated in the assault on Suribachi, moving along the western base of the mountain to the southern tip of the island, reaching it on February 23rd. Bobo's Bastards then spent the next five days clearing pockets of resistance, and closing caves around Suribachi

On February 28th, B Company moved north with the 1st Battalion to assist in the attack on Hill 362A. The 1st Battalion of the 27th Marines had already attempted an assault the hill, and were repulsed with staggering losses. After a massive bombardment by naval ships (including the USS Indianapolis), marine artillery, and aircraft, Hill 362 was successfully taken by the 1st battalion, 28th Marines, on March 1st.

It would take another two days to take Nishi Ridge, 200 yards north of Hill 362A, but on March 2nd, Cpl. Raymond Hubert was killed in action - shot in the back while assisting another marine to safety.

On March 7th, Cpl. Raymond Hubert was interred in Plot 4, row 10, grave 999 within the 5th Marine Division Cemetary on Iwo Jima.

Ray's cousin Tim was gravely wounded on D-Day, but survived the battle of Iwo Jima. In 1947 Tim celebrated the birth of his son, whom he named Timothy Raymond, in tribute to Ray. Timothy Raymond Hubert became an engineer, and participated in the technological development of the Tomahawk Cruise Missile.

Ray's body was eventually brought home from Iwo Jima; he is now buried at St. Mary's Cemetery in Tomah, Wisconsin.

Ray is described by his family members as having been an exceptionally brave and genuinely caring individual. The world is a little less kind without him in it.

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