kamoshika
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2008
- Messages
- 4,233
- Likes
- 19,756
Remembering Ray
William Ray Sluss was born to Otis and Zola Sluss of Scott County, VA on August 2, 1929. At some point, Zola abandoned her husband and son and they were taken in by Silas & Annie Fugate, tobacco farmers in Nickelsville. Otis helped Silas on the farm for several years and Ray grew up there.
Ray enlisted in the U.S. Army when he was 17 and served in the 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, during the Korean War. In late November 1950, the 2nd Infantry was attacked by Chinese forces near Kunu-ri, North Korea. On Nov. 30, 1950, Ray and many other American soldiers, were listed as missing in action as a result of that heavy fighting. In 1953, returning Americans who had been held as prisoners of war reported that Sluss had been captured by the Chinese, and died in the spring of 1951 as a result of malnutrition while in a POW camp in North Phyongan Province, North Korea. His family was notified of his death in 1954.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
"All my life I looked at the picture my grandmother had hanging on the wall," Sharon Henry described the memory of her uncle, Ray Sluss. While most had never met him, the memory of Sluss lived on in his family. There were many questions about his time spent with the Army in Korea. "What in the world? Where is he and why hasn't he come back home? and you always have that hope," said niece Jewell Kilgore. Chris Powers, a nephew of Sluss, turned to the internet for answers in 2006. "They had some forms you could fill out for information. I typed in “'I'm the nephew of William Ray Sluss,'" Powers explained.
On February 13, 2012, The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced that Sluss's remains had been identified and would be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.
Between 1991 and 1994, North Korea gave the United States 208 boxes of remains believed to contain the remains of 200-400 U.S. servicemen. North Korean documents indicated that some of the human remains were recovered from North Phyongan Province, where Sluss was believed to have been held in “Camp 5.” To identify the remains, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence, forensic identification tools such as dental records and radiographs, and mitochondrial DNA – which matched Sluss’s brother and sister.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Corporal William Ray Sluss was finally laid to rest in Weber City, VA on February 18, 2012. Following his burial, this condolence was shared by Capt. John Morrison on the funeral home's website:
“It was an honor to carry Cpl William Ray Sluss on my aircraft from Atlanta, GA to Charlotte, NC. Although we were running late due to the weather, I made the following announcement on the ground in Charlotte: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Captain Morrison. I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement. We have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His name is Corporal Sluss. Escorting him today is Sgt Ross. This soldier, who has been MIA for 60 years, recently released by the North Korean government, is in the cargo hold below you. He is being escorted home to his final resting place. Your entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain seated while his escort, Sgt Ross, exits the aircraft."
"I then taxied into the gate, and followed Sgt Ross onto the ramp. I stood in formation with the military honor guard, TSA agents, and ramp personnel while Cpl Sluss' flag-draped casket was transferred from the aircraft to the hearse. When I returned inside the aircraft, I asked about boarding for our departure. The lead flight attendant informed me that the inbound passengers had just finished de-planing. Not only had they allowed the escort to exit first, but they remained on-board to respectfully observe the ceremony. In the terminal, normally hectic with rushing passengers, the huge picture-windows, were crowded with the outbound passengers solemnly observing Cpl Sluss' return. In this frantic, got-to-be-there-now world, not a comment was made regarding our late departure. Let there be no doubt: Americans still have respect for the heroes that kept us and keep us free. Thank you Corporal William Ray Sluss.”
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Silas and Anne Fugate were my mom's paternal grandparents and they were two of the finest, kindest folks you could possibly know. After attending the burial service, Mom emailed this message to me and my siblings:
“Children, I thought you might be interested in reading the obit on Ray in Thursday and Friday’s paper (Corporal William Sluss). I remember him well. He used to play and tease me a lot at my grandparents. I don’t know how long he and his dad, Otis, lived with them. The obit mentions a special uncle and aunt, Silas and Anne Fugate. Of course they were no kin but it shows how special they were to him and I know they felt the same way about him.
"I got off from work this morning and Eugene and I went to the Gate City Funeral home where we talked with Ray’s sister, Buena from Indianapolis. We hugged and cried as she talked about Uncle Silas and Aunt Anne and Ray. She said she was having him buried beside Silas and Anne. We drove to the cemetery when we left and his grave is beside Grandma’s and across from Dad and Mom’s. Buena didn’t want him buried with his family members, but with the people who loved him as much as he did them.”
Last edited:
