Mary Gray was a military wife of an army officer and Viet Nam veteran for twenty years and moved 16 times, residing all over America and Europe during those years. Although she and her husband grew up in and then retired to Monroe, Louisiana, in 1988, they now reside in Fayetteville, NC, to be near children and grandchildren. She has three sons, the oldest a career, professional army officer. Her middle son is a foreign service officer with the Department of State and her youngest son, who is an army veteran of two tours of duty in Afghanistan, continues to serve our nation through the Department of Justice. Being the wife of a military officer required many hours of support and volunteer service to the military community. While her husband was assigned to the Pentagon in Washington, DC, Mary was a staff assistant on Capitol Hill to one of her Louisiana Senators, at that time, Senator J. Bennett Johnston. While living in Louisiana, Mary volunteered her time to church and community. She was chosen as Louisiana Mother of the Year in 2002. She was a Christian women’s conference speaker, and participated in Speaker’s Bureau as a speaker for several non-profit organizations. Mary worked on the staff of several non-profits, all involving family and child advocacy. She enjoys meeting new people and speaking to large groups about her latest ministry, Operation Bandanas. She has exhibited and led sessions at numerous conventions and conferences. She particularly enjoys speaking to women's groups encouraging them to be all that they can be in Christ. She has written or contributed to articles in various publications, including “Battlefields and Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq & Afghanistan,” by Jane Hampton Cook; “Psalm 91, God’s Shield of Protection,” (2009 and 2010 editions) by Peggy Joyce Ruth; Lifeway’s “Deacon Magazine,” Summer, 2010 issue; and “Tarheel Talk,”(WMU of NC,Winter, 2007 edition). She recently published her own book.