Beauchesne, Alfred Jr.
Army Sergeant 1st class

Alfred Jr. Beauchesne, age 18, from Rhode Island, Kent county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 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. Master Sergeant Alfred Beauchesne Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Rhode Island, was a member of Company C of the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, Company C, located near Unsan, joined with elements of the 3rd Battalion at its command post at Ipsok when the command post was surrounded by the enemy and cut off from other units. Master Sergeant Beauchesne was captured at some point during this time and eventually marched northward toward Pyoktong POW camp. He died of dysentery while at a temporary holding point enroute and was buried there by his companions. His remains have not been identified among the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Master Sergeant Beauchesne is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency