Raymond Wright

Moriah hometown hero Raymond “Buzz” Wright was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions while serving as an army rifleman in Vietnam (Specialist Four in Company A of the 3d Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.) On May 2, 1967, Wright and fellow soldier Sergeant Leonard B. Keller stormed a series of enemy bunkers, which were firing on their unit. Five other Moriah residents lost their lives in Vietnam.

Wright was born in Moriah, NY, December 5, 1945, the son of John and Elizabeth (Reed) Wright. He was the 11th of 13 children. Buzz attended school in Mineville, where he got the nickname that stayed with him throughout his life. Hunting, fishing and playing cards were among his favorite pastimes. He passed away in September 1999 and is interred, along with many other veterans of note, at the Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville, N.Y.

Originally a cemetery honoring fallen soldiers from World War I, the Raymond Wright Park in Mineville was rededicated in 2000. Among the additions is a monument in tribute to Raymond and a monument honoring the other five servicemen who died in Vietnam.