Gray delivered newspapers as a youngster. He graduated from Cheltenham High School and completed one semester at Drexel Institute of Technology before he enlisted in the Army in January 1966. The chief warrant officer was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 3rd Brigade, 9th infantry Division, in Vietnam. Gray died on July 9, 1968, his 21st birthday, when the helicopter he was piloting was hit by small arms fire. He managed to land the helicopter safely, but his wounds were fatal. Gray was survived by his wife, his mother and a brother.