Byrne, James Thomas
Army Sergeant

James Thomas Byrne, age 34, from New Jersey, Atlantic 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. Sergeant First Class James T. Byrne, who joined the U.S. Army from New Jersey, was a member of Battery C of the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Battery C was supporting 8th Cavalry Regiment elements near Unsan when U.S. troops were hit by a surprise attack and forced to withdraw. Sergeant First Class Byrne was with Battery C when it was ambushed during its withdrawal, and could not be located following the incident. 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, Sergeant First Class Byrne is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency