Fairchild, Ray Palmer
Marines Private 1st class
Ray Palmer Fairchild from Salyersville, Kentucky, Magoffin county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Monday, November 27, 1950
Death details: He was killed in action Nov. 27, 1950, near the town of Yudam-ni, west of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the war his remains could not be recovered. In 1954, during Operation Glory, North Korea and the United States Command exchanged the remains of casualties. One set of remains, designated Unknown X-13474 Yudam-ni could not be identified and were subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu. On May 11, 2012, the Joint Personnel Accounting Command (a predecessor to DPAA) disinterred X-13474 Yunam-ni and accessioned the remains to the laboratory. To identify Fairchild’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and autosomal DNA (auSTR) analysis.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency