O’leary, James Paul
Army Corporal

James Paul O’leary from Massachusetts, Bristol 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 Paul O’Leary joined the U.S. Army from Maine and served with Headquarters Company of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, members of Headquarters Company were with the 3rd Battalion, near Unsan, when the Regiment came under heavy attacks and received orders to withdraw. Sergeant O’Leary was captured during the withdrawal. He was marched northward, eventually reaching a small holding camp at Sambakkol, near the Yalu River, spending two months there. In January 1951, he was marched to Camp 5 at Pyoktong, on the south bank of the Yalu River. Sergeant O’Leary died there of malnutrition on or about June 13, 1951, and was buried by his companions on a hillside overlooking the camp. His remains have not been located, and he has not been identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant O’Leary is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency