McGuire, James Patrick
Army Corporal

James Patrick McGuire from New Jersey, Essex 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 James Patrick McGuire, who joined the U.S. Army from New Jersey, was a member of Company B, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion. In late October of 1950, Company B was positioned near Unsan to support ROK forces in the area. After midnight on November 1, U.S. units in the area were ordered to withdraw to avoid encirclement by the enemy. Company B was caught behind enemy lines, and most of its members either were taken prisoner or went missing in action. Sergeant McGuire was captured by the CCF and marched to Camp 5, a prison camp in Pyoktong, North Korea, on the southern bank of the Yalu River. He died there in April of 1951. His remains have not been recovered or identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant McGuire is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency