Title
Proclamation honoring Ambassador Charles A. Ray and welcoming him to the 2008 Allegheny County Flag Retirement Ceremony.
Body
WHEREAS, on June 14, 2008, Allegheny County Council will welcome Ambassador Charles A. Ray to the Annual Flag Retirement Ceremony at the “By the Dawn's Early Light” United States Flag Retirement Plaza in South Park; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Ray currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for POW/Missing Personnel Affairs, where he is responsible to the Secretary of Defense for policy, control and oversight of all matters pertaining to missing United States personnel from all conflicts; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Ray's military career began with twenty years of service in the United States Army, from which he retired with the rank of Major in 1982; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Ray joined the Department of State in 1982 and held several positions, including Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Freetown, Sierra Leone and then went on to serve in the Department of State Political Military Affairs Bureau and worked in the U.S. Consulate General Offices in Guangzhou and Shenyang, China; and
WHEREAS, in 1998, Ambassador Ray became the first U.S. Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and in 2002, was sworn in by former Secretary of State Colin Powell as the United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia, where he served until 2005; and
WHEREAS, Ambassador Ray's personal decorations include two Bronze Star medals from the Army and the Armed Forces Humanitarian Service Award;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, Allegheny County Council hereby welcomes Ambassador Charles A. Ray to Allegheny County's 2008 Flag Retirement Ceremony. We wish to express our deepest thanks for your attendance and for your dedication to serving the citizens of the United States of America.