ROSS – A Ross County Soldier lost in the Korean War will finally come home after over 70 years.
WASHINGTON- Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Cpl. Robert L. Bray, 18, of Chillicothe, Ohio, killed during the Korean War, was accounted for on June 6, 2019.
(This identification was initially published June 10, 2019.)
In the summer of 1950, Bray was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment, fighting against members of the Korean People’s Army. On July 20, 1950, he was reported missing in action in the vicinity of Taejon, South Korea. Absent of evidence of continued survival, the Department of the Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953.
CPL Bray’s body will arrive at John Glenn International Airport on Monday, Nov. 4, 2019 at 1:36 pm. The United States Army will be present to present Honors.
Following Honors, CPL Bray will be conveyed by motor escort to SMITH-MOORE-EBRIGHT FUNERAL HOME, Bainbridge with assistance from several law enforcement agencies and the Patriot Guard Riders.
Estimated time of arrival at the funeral home is 3:30 to 4 pm. On Monday 11/4
Public calling hours will be on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 from 9 am to 1 pm.
A brief funeral service will be held at the funeral Home at 1 pm officiated by an Army Chaplain.
Following this service, CPL Bray will be transported to the Bainbridge Cemetery where Full Military Honors will be accorded by the United States Army.
According to historical reports, the 565th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company recovered a set of remains initially designated as Unknown X-704 Tanggok from a common grave in the Kujong-ni, South Korea. On March 31, 1955, the remains were declared unidentifiable and were subsequently transferred to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu and were interred as an Unknown.
In August 2018, following thorough historical and scientific analysis, X-704 Tanggok was disinterred from the Punchbowl and sent to the laboratory for analysis.
To identify Bray’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this mission.
Today, 7,608 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War. Using modern technology, identifications continue to be made from remains that were previously returned by Korean officials, recovered from Korea by American recovery teams or disinterred from unknown graves. Bray’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl along with others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
For family contact information, contact the Army Service Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
Bray will be buried Nov. 6, 2019, in Bainbridge, Ohio.
