Conrad, Richard Leon
Army Private

Richard Leon Conrad, age 20, from Delaware County Muncie, Indiana .

Parents: Fred W. Conrad. The parents were notified on the same day via telegram in August1950 that their boys were missing.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Monday, July 31, 1950
Death details: On July 30, 1950, the 19th and 29th Infantry Regiments of the 24th Infantry Division were deployed in defensive positions along the Chinju-Masan roadway east of Chinju, South Korea. That evening, the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) attacked the 19th Infantry with overwhelming force, driving them back into the 29th Infantry and pushing both regiments to the south. The next day, the 19th and 29th Infantry Regiments were able to establish new defensive positions to the south of their former positions, though many men were killed or went missing during the action. Private First Class Richard Leon Conrad, who joined the U.S. Army from Indiana, served with Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was killed in action on July 31, 1950, near Chinju, as his unit made a fighting withdrawal to the southeast and new defensive positions. His body could not be recovered due to the confusion of battle and the speed of the withdrawal. After the battle, numerous searches were made for his body without success. Today, Private First Class Conrad 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, Star Press (1951)