Obituaries

Raul was raised on a farm in Gregory, Texas by his parents Bartolo and Felipa Valle and by his grandparents Gregoria and Francisco Valle who lived in Taft, Texas. Raul’s siblings were Hector, Arnulfo, Homer, Beatrice, Olivia, Evangelina and Lydia. He and his family were share-croppers raising cotton, corn, sugar cane, and chickens and owned plow horses, cows, and pigs. At 18 years old and with the help of his family, Raul joined the United States Marine Corps in December 1942. He joined an Infantry unit assigned to the 5th Marine Division then with the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade 4th and 22nd Marine Regiment. He served in New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, Guam, Okinawa and was at Yokosuka Naval Arsenal, Japan at the surrender on September 2, 1945. Raul was awarded the Purple Heart and was an expert in the use of the Browning Automatic Rifle and 60 MM Mortars. After his discharge he was called up again by the United States Marines for active service in 1950 during the Korean War. After his service, he settled in Corpus Christi, Texas where he worked as a Jet Airplane Mechanic with the United States Navy. In 1959, he brought his family and settled in Union City, California and worked at the Alameda Naval Air Base until his retirement. He was an active member of the Lt. Frank Reasoner, Marine Corps League Detachment 919 in San Leandro. There he served as the Chaplin for several years. Raul is survived by his wife Olivia Valle. They were married for 74 years and had two daughters, Yolanda and Yvonne and two sons, Richard and Robert. Raul had several grandchildren Regina, Christopher, Monica, Erin, Gilbert, Andrew, as well as great grandchildren; Zion, Zoe, Elijah, Atticus, Sofia, Jaxson, Benjamin and Everett. Raul Valle will be buried at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery.