Fullbright, Gerald Wayne
Army Sergeant

Gerald Wayne Fullbright, age 38, from Texas, Robertson 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 Gerald W. Fullbright, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, was a member of Company B of the 70th Tank Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, and his platoon was attached to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment. On November 1, the CCF engaged in a sneak attack on U.S. forces stationed near Unsan. Despite fierce resistance, the American battalions were forced to withdraw. Strong Chinese presence in the area cut off the 3rd Battalion from its exit routes, so its members formed two pockets of resistance. They held out against the CCF for two days before their position was overrun. Most the trapped men were killed, wounded, or captured, with the remainder escaping in small groups. Sergeant First Class Fullbright was captured during a breakout on November 3. Following the end of the conflict, surviving prisoners of war reported that SFC Fullbright died of exposure, malnutrition, and pneumonia in Prison Camp 5 near the Yalu River in March of 1951. He has not been identified among the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody following the conflict’s ceasefire. Today, Sergeant Fullbright is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency