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Echoes of a legacy from the bleachers.....the story of Falcon Fight!

  • Published
  • By A1C Kevin Cerovich
  • USAF Academy Band
U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado --  The opportunity to speak with a primary source to the composer of the Air Force Academy's fight song, "Falcon Fight" is rare indeed. Discovering the man whose life was the heritage of the Academy as a professional musician and instructor is more intriguing. Even more interesting is Tech. Sgt.(Ret.) Forrest Ray didn't realize until years later he had composed the Academy's rally cry for all graduates in the long blue line.

Since its inception in 1955, the Air Force Academy has been evolving into the #1 regional college in the western United States. (America's Best Colleges, 2010) The long blue line has grown to 43,901 graduates since the 1959 class at Lowry Air Force Base, Denver. Let's travel back in time through an airman who wrote the most beloved Academy song all those years ago.

How did an Academy Band member seize the chance to compose the song that has lifted spirits and bolstered institutional pride? Forrest Ray's wife Mrs. Virginia Ray, "Because he was initial cadre at the Academy, he was privileged to be part of a close-knit group of musicians who dubbed themselves 'The 55ers'. The 55ers were called on to train cadets because there were no upper classmen. There was a contest to get the airmen to compose an alma mater and fight song. My husband came up with a fight song, but he missed the deadline due to the rigors of music composition and editing. Nevertheless, he did get it finished and turned in.

Hearing nothing he liked better, this arrangement was approved by first Academy Band Commander Capt. "Costy" Costenbader and became the Academy's official fight song titled Falcon Fight!

Forrest left the Academy in 1965 so his gratification would come much later. Mrs. Ray, "Forrest never knew until some 40 years later when I was surfing the Internet and came across it. I asked him if he recognized the tune and he replied that it sounded familiar. Well, I said, it says here you wrote it."

Born January 28, 1930 in Huntington, West Virginia, Forrest faced immeasurable odds early in life. After the death of his father, his mother was admitted to a tuberculosis sanitarium when Forrest was 10 months old. He was immediately placed in an orphanage in Ohio. Playing donated instruments, he started on trumpet but by high school was an avid tuba player. So accomplished, he earned a job playing in the new Army Air Corps in 1947. After assignments in Panama City, Hawaii and Washington DC, Ray was transferred to the Academy Band.

It was in Colorado Springs where Virginia met Forrest. Virginia Ray, "A cousin, sister and I had moved west in 1961, I landed a job teaching at Harrison High School; Forrest was stationed at the Academy. Both of us were contacted by the pastor of a local church to assist with the music program. Forrest became the music director and I became the organist, though I was never the musician my husband was. We were married in February of 1965."

Upon retiring in 1968 from the 9th Air Force band in Sumter, South Carolina, the Rays stayed and were heavily involved in the community. In addition to bringing military and civilian bands to Sumter for years, Forrest helped start a 5K benefit run, still held today. After his passing on February 9, 2007, Virginia continues his legacy by remaining a pillar in the community. Recently, she has brought The Jazz Ambassadors from the Army Field Band in Washington D.C., the Wind Ensemble from The Air Force Heritage of America Band, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia & The USAF Academy Band Falconaires to Sumter.

Forrest Ray was always a strong proponent of the power of music to connect with people, exemplified by this story Virginia Ray told, "A few months before his death, a salesman friend teased him about playing music for a living to which Forrest replied, 'When's the last time you turned on the radio to listen to a used car salesman?'" As a young airman musician I draw inspiration from his story, both in breadth of career and ability to do what every musician aspires to do: change our world for the better. The next time you watch the Falcons play, listen for "Falcon Fight" and remember the man whose legacy echoes through the bleachers....and hopefully will for generations to come.