Individual Details

Death

BURRELL (UPI) -- A Taft man was killed and another injured Wednesday when an oil storage tank exploded as the men attempted to open it with a cutting torch. Killed in the explosion at a Signal Oil Co. storage yard near this southern Fresno County farming community was Raymond Furr, 57, Taft, who was working on top of the tank. A spokesman for the Riverdale constable’s office said Furr and Raymond Dyer, also of Taft, were applying heat to the bolts on top of the tank when the blast occurred. Dyer was treated at Valley Medical Center for burns on his back. Authorities said the 15,000 gallon storage tank was nearly empty when it exploded.
The Californian, Salinas, California, October 19, 1972

Military

Name: Raymond H Furr
Birth Year: 1915
Race: White, citizen
Nativity State or Country: Texas
State: California
County or City: Kern
Enlistment Date: 29 Aug 1942
Enlistment State: California
Enlistment City: Los Angeles
Branch: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Branch Code: Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law
Component: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 3 years of high school
Civil Occupation: Gunsmith* (Armorer), Diesel Mechanic (Automobile mechanic, Diesel engine), Camera Repairman (still camera), Instrument Repairman, Nonelectrical (Instrument maker), Utility Repairman (Mechanic, general), Equipment Maintenance Man, Motion Picture equipment
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 71
Weight: 189