Corona, Jaime
Army Private

Jaime Corona from El Paso, Texas, El Paso county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, July 16, 1950
Death details: On the evening of July 15, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 19th Infantry Regiment held defensive positions along the south bank of the Kum River. As dusk approached, North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) tanks appeared on the opposite shore and began firing on the U.S. positions. Although U.S. troops repulsed the attacks that evening, the next morning the NKPA crossed the river and launched a major attack against the 19th Regiment. As the regiment began withdrawing south to Taejon, the North Koreans pushed deep into their defensive lines and set up a roadblock en route to Taejon. When retreating American convoys could not break through the roadblock, soldiers were forced to leave the road and attempt to make their way in small groups across the countryside. Of the 900 soldiers in the 19th Infantry when the Battle of Kum River started, only 434 made it to friendly lines. Private First Class Jaime Corona entered the U.S. Army from Texas and served with the Heavy Mortar Company, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured on July 16, during the Battle of Kum River, while his unit attempted to withdraw to Taejon. PFC Corona was marched to the Apex prison camps on the southern bank of the Yalu River. Greatly weakened, he made it to the third Apex camp near An-dong, where he died on or about April 24, 1951. Although he was buried by his companions near the edge of the village, his remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody following the conflict. Today, Private First Class Corona is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency