Gilmore, Raymond Phillip
Navy Pharmacist’s Mate 2nd class

Raymond Phillip Gilmore, age 21, from Richmond, California, Contra Costa county.

Parents: George Buckner Gilmore

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Monday, November 22, 1943
Death details: On November 6, 2001, the Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Raymond P. Gilmore, missing from World War II. Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class Gilmore entered the U.S. Navy from California and was attached to Company A, 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Marine Division. On November 22, 1943, he was killed during the amphibious assault on Betio Island, as part of the Battle of Tarawa. He was buried on Betio, but his remains were not recovered in the immediate aftermath of the war. In 1999, CILHI was notified that human remains were found during construction along a road on Betio. A CILHI investigative team excavated the site and recovered remains that were later identified as those of PHM2 Gilmore.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency