HONOR MISSION
SSG Raymond "Mouse" Pragluski, Jr, 76, US Army, Vietnam Veteran, Bronze Star and Purple Heart Recipient, Patriot Guard Rider, OF Marlin, TX
The family of Staff Sergeant Raymond "Mouse" Pragluski Jr has requested the presence and participation of the Patriot Guard Riders at the Funeral and Committal Services of their Loved One.
On September 9, 1968, Ray received his draft notice and was conscripted into the US Army. He attended basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, followed by advanced training as a mortarman. He also attended the Noncommissioned Officer Candidate Course, where he was asked if he wanted to become an Airborne Ranger. To be a Ranger, you cannot be a draftee, so he enlisted at Fort Benning, Georgia, and went to Airborne Ranger school. After Ranger school, Pragluski was sent straight to Vietnam. He was promoted to staff sergeant. He earned a Bronze Star with Combat V device for recovering the body of a man killed during the middle of combat. Pragluski served nearly eleven months in Vietnam before he left the service and went into the inactive Reserves for the next five years. He was a proud member of the Patriot Riders; he started riding with the organization in the early days when the Patriot Guard would go to different states to stand for soldiers. He stood for one hundred missions, including every firefighter who died in the West Texas plant explosion in twenty thirteen. He was also a proud member of the the America Legion Riders and the Shriners, and served his community through those organizations for many years. Ray was also a 32nd degree mason. His entire obituary may be found here: https://www.lakeshorefuneralhome.com/raymond-pragluski-jr/
