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Thank God my father-in-law is still with us. Joe was at Normandy and the night the Germans broke through at Bastogne his Combat Engineer battalion was moved up on the North Side of the road across from the 506th Parachute (Band of Brothers).

My wife's uncle passed away last year and was buried at Arlington. His obituary doesn't tell half the story of 16 year old boy who lied about his age and by 17 had won a Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award in the Army.

A bottle of Makers Mark, a fire, and an evening to share with these two guys are the highpoints of my life.

Primm, Raymond "Ray"

Raymond “Ray” Primm, 72, of Russellville, Arkansas, died peacefully in his sleep on the evening of Friday, March 24, 2006 at his home, following illnesses of several years.

Raymond was born July 17, 1933, in Alix, Arkansas, the fifth child of James (Jim) and Maggie Burchfield Primm. He was preceded in death by his parents and his older brother, Roger, who died in 1974. Roger (William R.) was also a Korean War veteran.

Ray is survived by his wife, Virginia Shaffer Primm; four children, Terry Day and husband Mike, of Arlington, Texas; Donna Lang and husband Larry, of Westford, Massachusetts; Shari Melillo and husband Stephen, of Smithfield, Virginia; and son James Primm and wife Kathy, of North Little Rock, Arkansas; eight grandchildren, Melissa Day, Jinny and Ryan Lang, Spencer and Raymond Shaffer Melillo, and Madison, Raydan, and Kennedy Primm; and six brothers and sisters, Eileen Primm of Mt. Vernon, Missouri; Imogene Wiederkehr, of Independence, Missouri; Ruth Wasson, of Tulsa, Oklahoma; Gerald (Jerry) Primm, of Mulberry, Arkansas; Marilyn Primm, of Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Sharon Coffey, of Russellville, Arkansas.

Raymond served in two branches of the United States military. He enlisted in the Army at age 16 and served in Korea from November 1950 to June 1951 as part of the 7th Infantry Division, X Corp, 8th Army. A combat infantryman. Raymond fought in the battles of Operation Thunderbolt, Operation Killer, Chinese Spring Offensive, the Hwachon Reservoir campaign, and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. Raymond earned several medals and citations for courage under fire and for physical disabilities incurred in battle. At the time of his death, he was an active member of “The Chosin Few”, an organization of the survivors of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

Following a total of four years in the Army, in April 1954, Raymond enlisted in the Air Force and trained at the Airborne Radio Operator School, in Biloxi, Mississippi. After graduating with distinction, he received the Atomic Energy Commissions “Q” Clearance and was assigned to the 4928th Test Squadron of the 4925th Nuclear Test Group, with which he served from December 1954 through August 1956. Raymond’s home base was Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he was a crew member on B-50 and B-36 Bombers. In early 1955 and again in 1956 he participated in the Operation Tea Pot Atmospheric Nuclear Tests at Indian Springs AFB in Nevada. From August 1955 to August 1956, he served in Eniwetok, in the Marshall Islands Pacific Test Area, where he participated in the atomic and hydrogen bomb tests known as Operation Redwing and Operation Firecracker.

After leaving the Air Force, Raymond worked with Crown Engineering and Data Technologies companies in Albuquerque, under contracts with Sandia National Laboratories. While with Crown, he was part of a two-man team which solved an engineering failure that enabled NASA’s first Lunar Lander project to continue. He worked for many years with companies in Albuquerque, providing engineering support to both Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories.

In 1972, after developing and patenting an improved photo-electric eye for elevator and material handling uses, Raymond and three partners founded Innovation Industries, Incorporated, in Roswell, New Mexico. Innovation produced the electric eye developed and patented by him, which they dubbed the model 1004. The Innovation Model 1004 Electric Eye became the world standard for safety in elevator door controls and also led to work in other control systems that protect people all over the world. One project of interest handled by the company, in conjunction with Disney Imagineering, was the development of a new control system for Disneyland. Many of Innovation’s photo eyes were used throughout the park to trigger motion, light, and sound systems in such attractions as the Pirates of the Caribbean.

In 1983, Raymond left Innovation Industries and founded Keyswitch, Inc. Keyswitch produced another of his patents, which was an improved key operated switch, used to control elevators from both inside and outside the elevator car. Raymond’s keyswitches are now in such places as The National Institutes of Health, and the elevators leading to the justice’s chambers of the New York State Supreme Court. After the first bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, Keyswitch received a contract for switches to monitor all the elevators and security stations of the center. One of Raymond’s proudest moments was when he was able to visit the World Trade Center and see the security stations with all 168 Keyswitches on line. After selling and retiring from Keyswitch Inc. in 1999, Raymond enjoyed traveling, spending time with his children and grandchildren, and participating in local activities around Russellville. In addition to membership in “The Chosin Few”, Raymond was a member of the Russellville VFW and the Russellville Eagle’s Club, the latter of which he had served four years as president.

A rosary service was held on March 29th, 2006, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Russellville, Arkansas. A Celebration of Raymond’s Life was held the following evening, Thursday, March 30th, also at St. John’s Catholic Church, in Russellville. Members of the Russellville VFW held a military honors ceremony and fired the volleys. The body was cremated and, on July 17th, Ray's birth date, during an honors ceremony, the cremains were inurned in the columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.