Ronald Max Zirbel, age 19, from Dodge County Wisconsin.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Monday, July 31, 1950
Death details: On July 26, 1950, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, were defending a section of the Poun-Hwanggan Highway from North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) elements advancing toward Kumch’on. On July 30-31, supported by tanks, the NKPA launched heavy attacks against the American battalions. After a hard-fought delaying action, the 7th Cavalry Regiment received orders to withdraw to support other units at Kumch’on, and the 8th Cavalry Regiment provided cover as they withdrew. Soon after, the 8th Cavalry Regiment withdrew to new positions as well. Though the action was largely successful in delaying the NKPA advance, the area still fell under North Korean control and prevented the recovery of any American remains until U.S. forces retook the area in mid-September. Corporal Ronald Max Zirbel entered the U.S. Army from Wisconsin and served in E Company of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He went missing during the fighting on July 31, 1950, and is believed to have been taken as a prisoner and marched north to Seoul, where his last name appeared on a blackboard inside a schoolhouse that was used to house prisoners. The prisoners he was with were later marched further north to P’yöngyang, though there is no evidence that CPL Zirbel made it that far and was believed to have died during the journey. He was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the armistice, and further attempts to recover his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Corporal Zirbel is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency