Bobby Ray Dunlap, District #7, is Choctaw Nation’s Veteran of the Month.
Dunlap was born in Cloudy, Okla., where he lived until he was drafted into the U.S. Army at 18. After Basic Training, he was sent to South Korea from 1960-1962, where he worked assembling Hercules Missiles, a surface-to-air missile with a target range of 75 miles and an accuracy of within 50 feet.
He earned Expert Rifle and Carbine, as well as Marksman in Missile ribbons. He worked as a carpenter on base, generally excluding him from KP duty while making living quarters more inhabitable.
When asked about his favorite part of his time in the military, he proudly declared, “I was working for the United States of America!”
Pvt. Dunlap transferred to the Army Reserves upon his return to the United States in 1962. He moved to Anadarko, Okla., where he worked driving a cement truck. In 1969, Dunlap moved back to Cloudy, where he hauled logs until he began working for Pushmataha County, Dist. 2, operating a road grader. He retired in 2000 and still resides in Cloudy.
Dunlap married Janice White in 1969, and they have five children: Bobby Dunlap Jr., Tony Dunlap, Shanon Dunlap, Shana Marley, and Scott Dunlap.
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma holds our Veterans in the highest esteem and appreciates their sacrifices and contributions to preserve our freedoms and the way of life we hold dear.