Raymond M. Clausen

Raymond Clausen was born in New Orleans on October 14, 1947, graduated from Hammond High School, and enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in New Orleans on March 30, 1966. On January 31, 1970, near Da Nang, the helicopter crewman with HMM-263 made six trips into a minefield and brought out eleven wounded Marines and one dead. President Nixon presented the medal on June 15, 1971. Clausen was a private first class when he left active duty. He died in 2004 and is buried at Ponchatoula; his rescue helicopter is on display in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu — 1.1 mi
  A 6,000-square-foot museum of southwest Louisiana Carnival with about 275 costume mannequins and 14 animated figures, opened in April 2026.
• Imperial Calcasieu Museum — 1.4 mi
  Lake Charles's history museum, founded by the Junior League in 1963, with parish artifacts, Claire Chennault's uniform and the Sallier Oak.
• Sam Houston Jones State Park — 5.0 mi
  A 1,087-acre park on the West Fork of the Calcasieu with longleaf pine, cypress-tupelo swamp, five trails, cabins and kayak rentals.
• Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point — 9.4 mi
  A free visitor center at the western gateway of Louisiana's only All-American Road, with exhibits on alligators, migrating songbirds and the estuary.

More markers nearby

• Douglas B. Fournet — steps away
• Michael J. Novasel — steps away
• Edward Schowalter, Jr. — steps away
• Jefferson J. DeBlanc — steps away