Article by Gwen Jones, Department of Family Services
(Posted 2025 June)
Our lives consist of a series of decisions, and just one can change the course of a life. For Dr. Russell Rayman, his decision in 1962 to forego a more traditional career in medicine and instead join the U.S. Air Force to serve as a flight surgeon, led to a life he never could have imagined. He has visited and lived in unique places around the world, met and befriended interesting people along the way, experienced things most people cannot imagine, and witnessed significant moments in history.
Russell Rayman was born in January 1936 in Toledo, OH. Most of Rayman’s early memories center around World War II. His father, a physician, was considered too old to serve and had high blood pressure. That didn’t stop him from trying to join the Army repeatedly, only to be rejected each time. Rayman shares that his father finally succeeded, saying, “He went back a fourth time in 1942 and in that year, we were losing the war, so I guess they decided to change their minds and take him.” Rayman’s father was first assigned to provide medical care for German and Italian prisoners of war at a POW camp in the south. He was later shipped overseas and served in General Patton’s third Army as they marched through France, Luxembourg and Germany.
While his father served, Rayman and his mother relocated to Miami Beach, FL, to be closer to her family. Because Miami Beach served as a port for the U.S. Navy, he regularly saw war ships come and go, and remembers sitting on the curb, watching in awe as troops marched past. After the war ended and his father returned, the family moved back to Toledo, where his father resumed his medical practice.
The decision to follow his father into the field of medicine was entirely Rayman’s own. In fact, his father advised him that there were easier ways of making a living. He also followed in his father’s footsteps by attending his alma mater, the University of Michigan, for both undergrad and medical school, graduating in 1961.
After completing medical school, Rayman had a choice to make. At the time, young men were being drafted for military service, so if he pursued a traditional career in medicine, he risked being drafted at any time. His other option was to volunteer for service. There were advantages to volunteering – you could tell the military when you wanted to go on active duty, you could choose what branch you wanted to join, and you could request a specific assignment. “I also thought it was a chance to mature a little bit. I was about 24. Officially you’re an adult, legally you’re an adult, but you’re not an adult,” says Rayman. He was also inspired by the service of his father and uncle, who answered their nation’s call to serve during World War II.
Rayman joined the U.S. Air Force to serve a two-year tour as a flight surgeon. The name is a bit misleading since they aren’t surgeons, their specialty is aerospace medicine, treating all types of flyers, such as pilots, navigators, aviators, gunners, and astronauts. Their work involves both clinical care as well as preventative programs specific to flyers. Rayman was sent to Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, TX, to participate in a three-month training course for flight surgeons called Primary Course Aviation Medicine. After completing the course, he requested to be sent overseas. In 1962, he arrived at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines the week before Christmas to begin his military service.
Soon after arriving at Clark, Rayman met his future wife, Ludy de la Vega. The story begins when he was sent to the Clark hospital pharmacy to provide a sample of his handwriting to prevent forgery. Approaching the pharmacy window, he gave his sample to the beautiful young woman working behind the counter. He wanted to speak to her but found himself too tongue-tied, so he devised a plot to ask her on a date. He made a reservation at a nearby restaurant called Nina Papagallos, requesting Table 1. Taking a page from his prescription pad, Rayman wrote, “Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Nina Papagallos, Table 1,” then went to the pharmacy and handed the page to her. The next evening, he went to the restaurant and found a sergeant sitting at Table 1 smoking a cigar. Rayman learned that the beautiful woman named Ludy never read the page and instead handed it off to the sergeant to take care of, thinking it was a prescription. Meanwhile, the sergeant read the note and thought that Ludy was inviting him out. While both men were disappointed, they had a good laugh. Rayman eventually met Ludy through a friend and they were married for 38 years.
At the end of his two years of service, it didn’t take long for Rayman to decide to return. “I didn’t realize how wonderful I saw military life, so I decided to go back and make a career out of it. I re-volunteered and then stayed in for 28 years,” he says. Rayman’s career with the U.S. Air Force took him all over the world. He was stationed in the Philippians twice, served in Thailand during the Vietnam War, served on a NATO base in the Netherlands, and participated in an officer exchange program where he served for two years with the British Royal Air Force. He was also stationed at various bases throughout the United States. During that time, he and Ludy wed and had three sons.
During his military career, Rayman participated in a number of historic events, including Operation Homecoming in 1973 in which nearly 600 American POWs held by North Vietnam were returned. Two years later, he was dispatched to Wake Island during Operation New Life, where South Vietnamese refugees fleeing the country after the fall of Saigon were housed and received medical care while awaiting resettlement in the United States.
Rayman finally retired from the U.S. Air Force in 1989. Not long after, NASA’s chief medical officer asked him to join the agency. Although officially an employee of Lockheed-Martin, he was contracted to work at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he was involved in policymaking and research. He devoted himself to specific issues related to the health of astronauts, such as nutrition and cabin air quality. After years of living all over the world, his family settled in Alexandria.
While he found his job at NASA fascinating, after three years Rayman was offered a job he considers the pinnacle of his career. In 1992, he accepted the role of Executive Director of the Aerospace Medical Association, the professional home of flight surgeons and flight nurses. He served in that role for 17 years before retiring in 2010.
Although retired, Rayman was busier than ever. His wife, Ludy, had recently passed away so he took on all the household tasks. He also continued to practice medicine, volunteering at two free clinics – one in Prince William County and a second in Arlington County.
Rayman continues to volunteer at a free clinic in Woodbridge called Mother of Mercy. He also spends his time playing the piano, reading, and exercising, swimming nearly every day and hiking a few days each week.
After he retired, Rayman was encouraged by a friend to write a book about his experiences. “I had no plans to do it. My friend Dr. Schall kept bugging me and he gave me a guilt complex so I said I would write it. It took me three years,” he says. In his book, “My Hallowed Ground: Reminiscences of a Flight Surgeon,” Rayman shares anecdotes about his career and the significant historical events he witnessed from 1962-2010. His book was published in 2024 with all royalties benefiting the Aerospace Medical Association Foundation.
Rayman continues to stay active and is writing a book about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, a topic he’s been interested in since 1960. He is a frequent traveler, most recently to Portugal. He also enjoys socializing with friends and spending time with his three sons, their wives, and seven grandchildren.
If you would like to read more about Dr. Russell Rayman’s life and career, his book, “My Hallowed Ground: Reminiscences of a Flight Surgeon,” is available for purchase on Amazon.com.
This article is part of the Golden Gazette monthly newsletter which covers a variety of topics and community news concerning older adults and caregivers in Fairfax County. Are you new to the Golden Gazette? Don’t miss out on future newsletters! Subscribe to get the electronic or free printed version mailed to you. Have a suggestion for a topic? Share it in an email or call 703-324-GOLD (4653).