Remember...
Orlan Jefferson Fulks
1931-1952
"A military situation at its worst can inspire fighting men to perform at their best."
Marguerite Higgins, Korean War correspondent
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Remember...Orlan Jefferson Fulks
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Orlan Jefferson Fulks was born in Strange Creek, Braxton County, West Virginia, on February 4, 1931. His parents were Charles Edward Fulks and Tishie Luvenia Bennett Talbert Fulks. Charles had previously been married to Sarah Ann Given. Federal Census records for 1910, 1920, 1930, and 1940 provide insight into the growing Fulks family, showing first a set of half-siblings and finally siblings from the Charles/Tishie marriage. In 1910, Charles and Sarah were parents to Howard A. Fulks. In 1922, census records show Howard to be 12 years old, and Sarah's mother (also named Sarah) was living with them. Also in the household was Samuel A. Frame (no relationship listed). But Sarah died in 1922, and in 1924, Charles married Tishie. The 1930 census shows Howard, now 22, still living with the family, and two additional offspring: Charles L. and Virginia M. His new wife Tishie's children - Wanda, Willard, and Juanita Talbert were also in the household. The 1940 census lists the following household members: C. E. and Tishie (the parents), Charles, Virginia, Orlan, Arlie, Howard, Juanita Tolbart [sic], Loleta Fulks, and Donaglan Fulks.
Orlan Jefferson Fulks attended Clay High School. He married Mary Maxine Naylor on June 23, 1952. Their time together would be short-lived, however, because Orlan's military records show that he was declared missing in action in North Korea on October 5, 1952.
The Korean War Honor Roll listing for Orlan J. Fulks, from the American Battle Monuments Commission website, provides the following detail:
Private First Class Fulks was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regimental Combat Team. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy near DT 241-428, North Korea on October 5, 1952. He was presumed dead on December 31, 1953. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. Private First Class Fulks was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
| As his remains were not recovered, Pfc. Fulks is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific. His widow, Mary Maxine Fulks, remarried in 1956. In 1957, Orlan's mother, Tishie Fulks, filed an application for a West Virginia Korean War Veterans Bonus. Charles Edward Fulks died in 1963 and Tishie in 1974. |  Walls of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial (National Cemetery of the Pacific) in Hawaii. American Battle Monuments Commission |
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure
November 2021
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.