John Raica, commander of American Legion Post 51 in Hubbard, stands in uniform at a recent event the Legion hosted. (Submitted photo)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the last in a series on local veterans. Stories will resume on Memorial Day.

HUBBARD — City resident John T. Raica is fortunate for his military service, as it propelled him into an important career at just 26 years old.

Raica was born in Sharon, Pa., but really calls Erie, Pa. home because his family moved there shortly after he was born. He graduated from East High School, then attended Gannon University.

Then, in 1959, he said he contemplated waiting to possibly be drafted, or enlisting. He chose the latter.

Raica joined the Army and went to Fort Worth, Texas, for boot camp. In July of that year, he went to a 17-week school on photo interpretation. He learned to analyze photos taken from planes, mostly of foreign countries, to see what was happening on the ground.

During his three years in the Army, he spent most of his time at Fort Holabird in Baltimore, analyzing photos of China’s eastern coast. He completed his service in May 1962. Because of his experience in photo interpretation, he was able to get a job doing the same in the CIA.

“I was only 26 at the time but was given lots of responsibility because of my experience with the Army,” Raica said. “So, you might say the Army did me a big favor by giving me the expertise to get into that position and giving me my livelihood.”

He began his career in the CIA in August 1962 as an intelligence officer. He was a GS-14 employee, which meant he was a supervisor. After just two months on the job, a situation came up that would grab the attention of the world: the Cuban missile crisis.

On Oct. 14, 1962, an American U-2 plane flew over Cuba and photographed a Soviet SS-4 medium-range ballistic missile being assembled. President John F. Kennedy was briefed about the situation on Oct. 16 and contemplated what to do for several days. If the missiles became operational, they would have been able to hit much of the eastern half of the United States. Kennedy gave an address to the American people about the incident on Oct. 22. The U.S. enacted a naval blockade to try to prevent materials needed to finish the missile site from getting to the island.

On Oct. 24, a Soviet ship headed to Cuba got close to the blockade. The whole world held its breath. After several tense days, the president received a letter from Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in which he offered to remove the Cuban missiles in exchange for a promise by U.S. leaders not to invade Cuba. As far as most Americans were concerned, the crisis had been averted.

“That was a very, very scary time,” Raica said. “We were on the brink of nuclear war with Russia and Cuba. We had never been that close to nuclear war.”

During that time, Raica had begun working 12-hour shifts, often seven days per week. He said that continued for several months, because inside the agency, the crisis had not yet been averted. They still had to monitor the situation to make sure the USSR and Cuba would hold up their end of the deal. At any time, Raica said it felt as if the situation could have escalated again to the level of a crisis.

The CIA was flying six to eight photography missions per day, he said, and he would interpret those photos. In November, the Soviets began pulling out their offensive missiles and Raica waited to see if their military camps would be too. It wasn’t until around March 1963 that he felt confident the USSR had mostly pulled out their equipment.

By direction of the president, Raica earned a certificate of commendation for meritorious service with the Central Intelligence Agency, which he said Kennedy awarded to each person who worked on the Cuban Missile Crisis.

“After Cuba was somewhat put to bed, I worked every crisis there was,” Raica said. This included other conflicts with the USSR, in the Middle East and North Korea.

Raica retired from the CIA in 1992. He was given some of the photography from Cuba and made a presentation in 2015 that he has given about 20 times to various local groups. He talks about the Cuban missile crisis and how the photography played a role.

He and his wife, Betty, moved from Arlington, Va., to Hubbard in 1997 to be closer to family. Raica was a member of the American Legion in Arlington, then transferred to the post in Farrell, Pa., where he was the vice commander. In 2015, he transferred to the Hubbard post and has been the commander since 2015.

“I’m very proud of what we do for veterans, and I’m very proud of building my post up from 25 members in 2015 to 130 members now,” Raica said.

The legion gives back to the community by giving to several charities, including the Youngstown Blue Coats, the Gary Sinise Foundation, America’s VetDogs and the Hubbard Food Bank. Between his family, the legion and his position as president of the Stone Grove Condominium Association, Raica said he has stayed busy in retirement.

John Raica

AGE: 86

RESIDENCE: Hubbard

SERVICE BRANCH: U.S. Army

FAMILY: Wife, Betty; daughter, Elizabeth; son-in-law, Kevin; and grandson, Carson