Burkett, John Joseph Jr.
Army Sergeant 1st class

John Joseph Jr. Burkett, age 25, from South Carolina, Charleston county.

Parents: John J. Burkett Sr. and Alice Jane Burkett
Spouse: Natalie R. Burkett
Children: Alice Faye Burkett and Linda Gale Burkett

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 John J. Burkett, who joined the U.S. Army from South Carolina, was a member of Company C of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company C was in reserve backing up other 1st Battalion units in defensive positions near Unsan when it was hit by a surprise enemy attack and forced to withdraw. Units faced small arms fire during the withdrawal, and upon reaching an assembly area at Ipsok to muster, Master Sergeant Burkett could not be located. He was never reported as a prisoner of war and was not identified among the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Master Sergeant Burkett is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Walterboro Press and Standard