Bray will be buried Nov. 6, 2019, in Bainbridge, Ohio.
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. He was reported missing in action on July 20, 1950, after his unit fought a defensive action near Taejon, South Korea.
Following the incident, the 565th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company recovered his body from a common grave in Kujong-ni, North Korea; however, forensic analysis conducted at the time did not identify Bray. Absent of evidence of continued survival, the Department of the Army declared him deceased as of Dec. 31, 1953.
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 2018, advances in forensic technology prompted the disinterment of all unknown remains from the Korean War, and in 2019, DPAA laboratory personnel identified Bray from among them.
To identify Bray’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental, anthropological and chest radiograph comparison analysis, as well as circumstantial and material evidence.
Bray is one of 35 Soldiers, Airmen and Marines identified this month.
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.
Bray's personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000GKLyIEAX.
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