Raymond G. Pollard III was born in Huntington in 1943. He graduated from Vinson High School and was the first Vinson graduate to attend and graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. During his Army career, he served two combat tours of duty in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor twice, the Bronze Star Medal for outstanding service in combat operations and the Army Commendation Medal. He was a graduate of the Army Airborne School, the Army Ranger School and the Army Officer's Advance Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Twice, the president named Pollard a Presidential Meritorious Executive. He was recognized with the Development and Readiness Command System Award in 1979. He was the lead technical analyst on loan to the State Department at the International Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1979 to 1983. His career was capped by selection as only the 15th member in history of the Army Operations Research Hall of Fame in 2011.
