background he was simply known as "Russian" on the ship. During his service the ship had missions to Guam, the Marshall Islands, Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Tokyo and other locations. The ship transported some survivors from the dive bomber attack on the USS Franklin (CV-13), was at Buckner Bay in Okinawa during Typhoon Louise in 1945 and at Bikini Atoll during preparations for the atomic bomb testing of Operation Crossroads in 1946. While in the Navy Ray was paid $21 per month. After serving in the Navy 2 years he returned to Lorain and finished high school. Lawrence was originally a member of his high school class of 1945, but because of his enlistment, graduated as a member of his high school class of 1947. On his return to Lorain, he did not become a member of the 5220 "club" (52 weeks of work for $20 per week) but instead he worked checking train cars for the terminal railroad at U.S. Steel. He then went to Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In 1948 while at Ohio University he started his own big band consisting of 3 saxophones, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and 3 rhythm players. He was a drummer. He was born Ray Skrepich, but when it came time to name his band he thought his name was too hard to remember and pronounce, so his father suggested he use his mother's maiden name of Lawrence. As a result, the band was named "Ray Lawrence and his Orchestra". After a couple of years his big band disbanded and he formed a rhythm and blues quartet named "Rockin Ray and his Rocket Rhythm". His quartet played race music on the Chitlin' Circuit and shared the bill with groups such as Bo Diddley, Fats Domino and Otis Williams and the Charms. In the spring of 1953 Lawrence stopped performing and was a salesman for American Tobacco Company, Johnson Wax and then a reporter for F. W. Dodge Corporation. He then started his own theatrical booking agency in Cleveland, Ohio named Artistry and Promotion. He booked musical combos and some variety acts across the United States and Canada. He was married in February 1954, and subsequently he and his wife Grace had three children, Jeff, Connie and Lisa. He also has four grandchildren, Christopher, Kathy, Matthew and Jenna. In the fall of 1960 Lawrence joined Cosnat Distributing, a record distributor, in Cleveland, Ohio as