Eagle Scout Award by the Boy Scouts of America. He graduated from high school in Meadville in 1934 as valedictorian of his class. After finishing high school, Shafer attended Allegheny College from 1934 to 1938, where he was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and served as class president. He graduated as a member of Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science and was a candidate for a Rhodes Scholarship. At Allegheny, Shafer was an accomplished athlete, achieving all-Pennsylvania honors in basketball and all-American honors in soccer. In 1938, Shafer enrolled at Yale Law School and earned a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1941. While at Yale, Shafer participated in intramural sports, barrister's union, and moot court. Several Yale classmates, such as Bill Scranton and Gerald Ford, would help shape his future political career. The summer after graduating from law school, in June, Shafer sat for the New York State bar exam and, on July 5, he married Jane Harris Davies, whom he had met at Allegheny. The couple went on to have three children together: Diane (born 1942), Raymond Philip Jr. (born ), and Jane (born 1953, died 1999). Shortly after their marriage, the Shafers settled in New York City and Ray joined the law firm of Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts. In 1942, Shafer entered the United States Navy as a naval intelligence officer and later served on PT boats. He participated in over 80 combat missions during World War II on PT boats as commanding officer of PT-359 and later as executive officer of Squadron 27. As Squadron executive officer, Shafer sailed aboard PT-375, one of the first PT boats to penetrate the defenses of Manila Bay, Philippines, during the Battle of Manila. Shafer earned the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, as well as the rank of lieutenant during his tour in the Pacific theater. The Shafers returned to Meadville after the war, where Ray entered private law practice. His political career began in 1948 when he was elected district attorney of Crawford County, a position Shafer held until 1956, serving two terms. In 1958, Shafer ran for a seat in the State Senate to represent the 50th District, consisting of portions of Crawford and Mercer counties. He defeated five-term state representative Edward M. Young in the Republican primary in May, 55% to 45%, aided significantly by