Burgess, John D.
Army Sergeant 1st class

John D. Burgess from District of Columbia.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, November 1, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant First Class John D. Burgess, who joined the U.S. Army from Washington, D.C., was a member of Company B of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company B was in defensive positions with the 1st Battalion near Unsan when the Battalion was hit by a surprise enemy rocket and mortar attack along with infantry assaults and forced to withdraw. Sergeant First Class Burgess was reported killed in action as the battle went into the second day. His body could not be recovered following the incident as the enemy occupied the area. He was not identified among the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant First Class Burgess is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.