KILLEEN, Texas — The City of Killeen is set to honor a local hero in April.
Captain Robert "Bob" Gray was a Killeen native and pilot who was chosen by Lt. Col. Jimmie Doolittle to fly in the famous Doolittle Raid over Tokyo during World War II. Gray was selected to fly alongside 80 other pilots as they struck military and industrial targets in a daring raid on the Japanese mainland.
Receiving his wings in 1941, Gray was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Air Corps and quickly became a top B-25 bomber pilot.
Though Gray successfully completed the mission during the raid, he was killed in action six months later in the China-Burma Campaign.
Now, decades later, the City of Killeen is still keeping Gray's legacy alive.
On Tuesday, April 18, the City will recognize Bob Gray Day in honor of the hometown hero.
Mayor Debbie Nash-King will present an official proclamation to a descendant of Gray in a ceremony at the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport at 10 a.m. in honor of the annual occasion.
Bob Gray Day was first proclaimed by R.T. Polk, Killeen's 18th mayor, who served from 1935 to 1943.
Mayor Polk ordered that, “Flags will fly from every socket and flagpole in the community, and the day will be set aside permanently as the memorial to a brave heart that winged its way into the very vitals of enemy territory and destroyed military objectives that were calculated to bring harm and destruction to our great country.”
Now, decades later, Mayor Nash-King and the City will continue the tradition.
In addition to Bob Gray Day, Gray's legacy is also recognized throughout the City of Killeen, with the pilot lending his name to Gray Street in downtown Killeen, the Robert Gray Army Airfield on Fort Hood and being immortalized with a display and statue at the Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport.
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