PHOTO PROVIDED / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
MILITARY … This photo is of Raymond dressed in his military uniform.
By: Renea Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
renea@thevillagereporter.com
The story of Raymond Reynolds begins far from Ohio, in Donna, Texas, where he was born while his family was away on vacation. Raised in Napoleon, Malinta, Delta, and Winameg, Reynolds grew up surrounded by the rural communities that define the area.
“I’ve been around here all my life, mostly,” he said with a smile. That would remain true until he was drafted into military service at just 18 years old to serve in the Vietnam War.
Reynolds remembered trying to postpone the inevitable, heading down to Florida to get away for a while. “I couldn’t do it,” he recalled.
“My father served, my brother served, and I figured I’d better come back and face the music.” That decision marked the beginning of a remarkable 23-year career in the United States Army.
He began his training at Fort Polk, Louisiana, serving with the infantry. His skill with a rifle was quickly recognized, and he was assigned as a shooter, a role that placed him in intense and often dangerous situations.
“They found out I could shoot, so they made me a shooter,” he said. “We were babies out there.” He recalls being told to look for the “old man” who was going to be the sideways and spotter, but came to find out, the “old man” of the group was just 21 years old.
After his initial two years of service, Reynolds returned home and began an apprenticeship as a tool and die maker. But when factory layoffs struck, he found himself searching for direction once again.
That’s when he decided to reenlist. “The recruiter told me I couldn’t reenlist because I already had once,” he laughed. “But I told him, ‘No, I was drafted!’ So that made this my first enlistment, and they gave me a $2,000 bonus to sign up.”
This time, the decision was fully his own. “I wanted to go airborne, jumping out of airplanes and being crazy,” he said with pride. “And I loved it. Every minute of it. Nobody was forcing me. I did it because I wanted to.”
He served all over the world, building deep bonds with his fellow soldiers. “Everybody there were brothers. We had each other’s backs, no matter what.”
His military life brought both triumph and tragedy. He lost friends in combat and carried memories that still stir emotion decades later. He also shared a deeply personal experience, moments when, after being wounded, he believed he saw a woman in white encouraging him to get up and keep fighting.
He later realized that the person he had been seeing was his future wife, Robin. Their paths crossed again while he was working as a contractor in Iraq, and the connection became undeniable. “The first words out of her mouth were, ‘We were supposed to be together,’” he said. The two have been together ever since.
Reynolds’ leadership continued when he was selected to become a drill sergeant, an honor reserved for the top ten percent of soldiers. “I told them I didn’t want to be a drill sergeant,” he chuckled, “but they told me I didn’t have a choice.”
His approach to training was hands-on and heartfelt. “I always told my men I would never lead from the back. I lead from the front. You follow me, do what I do, and stay alive.”
That philosophy defined his leadership. He viewed his soldiers as family, taking pride in shaping them into capable men. “Mothers would call me crying, saying, ‘I had him for 18 years, now it’s your turn.’ And I told them, ‘Not a problem.’”
Among his proudest moments was being selected as part of the top mechanized infantry team in a national competition at Fort Hood, Texas. “We were number one,” he said proudly.
“They selected us to be the face of the United States Army Infantry Division in 1983.” Being the face of the United States Army meant that the team got to take photos for posters that represented the Army.
Looking back on his years of service, Reynolds speaks with deep pride but also with reflection. “If I were still healthy enough, I’d do it again,” he said. “In a heartbeat.” His respect for other veterans runs deep; he never passes a man or woman in uniform without offering a handshake and a thank you.
The Vietnam years, however, left scars. “When we got back, there were no parades, no cheering crowds. We were spit on,” he recalled quietly. “It was hard. It was painful. And to this day, I still wake up in a sweat from the memories.”
Yet despite those hardships, his conviction remains unshaken. “I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he repeated. “It wasn’t for glory or honors. It’s something inside you; to go, to serve, to become better than when you left home.”
Through decades of dedication, from the jungles of Vietnam to the frozen training fields where ice formed on his helmet, Sergeant Raymond Reynolds embodied what it means to lead by example. “I’m not special,” he said humbly. “Any man or woman can do the job when it’s needed. You just do it. That’s the way I feel.”
Today, living in Archbold with the woman who once appeared to him in his darkest hours, Reynolds continues to inspire those who hear his story. A reminder that courage, duty, and compassion can all live within the same soldier’s heart.