Buik, Herbert Edward
Army Private

Herbert Edward Buik, age 19, from Wells County Harvey, North Dakota .

Parents: H. E. Buik

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, July 26, 1950
Death details: In late July 1950, elements of the 27th Infantry Regiment, 8th Cavalry Regiment, and other units in the 25th Infantry and 1st Cavalry Divisions were tasked with blocking a North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) advance down the Poun-Hwanggan Highway, toward Kumch’on, roughly thirty-five miles west of Taegu. On July 23 and 24, U.S. units fought a series of engagements against the advancing NKPA forces. Heavy enemy artillery fire barrages forced the U.S. units back slowly until they began to withdraw to new positions on July 26. Over the next three days, the units withdrew and consolidated in Kumch’on, though many American soldiers died, were captured, or went missing during this action.
Private First Class Herbert Edward Buik Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from North Dakota, was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. On July 24, 1950, members of the 1st Battalion were positioned in the village of Sangyang-ni on the Poun-Hwanggan highway when they came under heavy NKPA attack. Enemy tanks overran the defenders’ position, forcing the 1st Battalion to fall back. Private First Class Buik was captured by the NKPA at some point during the fighting withdrawal. He was marched north, eventually arriving at the Apex camps on the bank of the Yalu River in North Korea. He died of pneumonia in February of 1951 while being held at the Apex camp at Hanjang-ni. He was buried on a hill overlooking the camp, but his remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody following the end of hostilities. Today, Private First Class Buik is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Forgo Forum (1954)