Raymond Phillip Gilmore was born in Greene County, Missouri on 25 January 1922. His father, George B. Gilmore, and his mother, Lula M. Sawdey, were also Missouri natives. Lula died in 1923 and George moved to California with his daughter and son. George and his children lived in Stanislaus County, California, where George worked in the house construction industry.

Raymond Phillip Gilmore attended high school and then enlisted in the Navy. He enlisted on 28 December 1940 at San Francisco, California. He served aboard the USS Tangier as a Hospital Apprentice Second Class. Then he served aboard the USS Heywood as a Hospital Apprentice First Class. He later served as a Pharmacist’s Mate Second Class, attached to Company A, 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Marine Division.

On November 22, 1943, PHM2 Raymond P. Gilmore 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 after the war. In 1999, human remains were found during construction along a road on Betio. The remains were identified as those of PHM2 Gilmore in 2001.

PHM2 Raymond P. Gilmore is listed on the courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery on 27 September 2002.

Sources

Missouri, U.S., Birth Registers. Ancestry.com

1930 United States Federal Census. Santa Ana, Orange, California; Page: 15B; ED: 0079

U.S., World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949. Ancestry.com

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001IVMPqEAP

Find a Grave. Memorials 56131456 and 49189397

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Stories Behind The Stars Contributing Author – Marilyn Murphy

Raymond P Gilmore