CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) — A southern West Virginia Army soldier is finally coming home almost 75 years after he went missing in the Korean War.
The U.S. Army announced Friday that it positively identified the remains of Army Corporal Ray K. Lilly, of Matoaka. He was officially accounted for on Sep. 26, 2023.
Lilly was 18-years-old when he went missing as his unit engaged in defensive actions in North Korea.
In November 1950, Lilly was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He went missing in action after his unit engaged in defensive actions in the vicinity of Unsan, North Korea on Nov. 2, 1950. After Operation Big Switch, several returning prisoners of War (POWs), reported seeing Cpl. Lilly at POW Camp #5. It was later determined that Lilly died in captivity in January or February 1951.
The DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence, to identify Lilly’s remains. Scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Lilly’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing in Honolulu, Hawaii. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Lilly will be buried in Princeton, West Virginia, on a date to be determined.
