In October 1944, Raymond's unit (Company C, 1st Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division) faced off against German forces near Germeter, Germany in the Hürtgen Forest. Officials said he was killed in action on 14 October. His remains could not be recovered at the time because of the on-going fighting.
After the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. Several efforts to locate Blanton's remains between 1946 to 1950 were unsuccessful. The DPAA declared him "non-recoverable" in 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one of two sets of unidentified remains, designated X-4491 Neuville and X-4492 Neuville, possibly belonged to Blanton. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in September of 2017 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, to be identified. Dental records, mitochondrial DNA and circumstantial evidence confirmed the identification.
His remains were repatriated, and buried in Richmond on 1 July 2021.
After the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. Several efforts to locate Blanton's remains between 1946 to 1950 were unsuccessful. The DPAA declared him "non-recoverable" in 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one of two sets of unidentified remains, designated X-4491 Neuville and X-4492 Neuville, possibly belonged to Blanton. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in September of 2017 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, to be identified. Dental records, mitochondrial DNA and circumstantial evidence confirmed the identification.
His remains were repatriated, and buried in Richmond on 1 July 2021.
In October 1944, Raymond's unit (Company C, 1st Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division) faced off against German forces near Germeter, Germany in the Hürtgen Forest. Officials said he was killed in action on 14 October. His remains could not be recovered at the time because of the on-going fighting.
After the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. Several efforts to locate Blanton's remains between 1946 to 1950 were unsuccessful. The DPAA declared him "non-recoverable" in 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one of two sets of unidentified remains, designated X-4491 Neuville and X-4492 Neuville, possibly belonged to Blanton. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in September of 2017 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, to be identified. Dental records, mitochondrial DNA and circumstantial evidence confirmed the identification.
His remains were repatriated, and buried in Richmond on 1 July 2021.
After the war ended, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. Several efforts to locate Blanton's remains between 1946 to 1950 were unsuccessful. The DPAA declared him "non-recoverable" in 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one of two sets of unidentified remains, designated X-4491 Neuville and X-4492 Neuville, possibly belonged to Blanton. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in September of 2017 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, to be identified. Dental records, mitochondrial DNA and circumstantial evidence confirmed the identification.
His remains were repatriated, and buried in Richmond on 1 July 2021.
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