Spiller, Elmo Murray
Army Private

Elmo Murray Spiller, age 17, from Washington, King 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. Private First Class Elmo Murray Spiller joined the U.S. Army from Washington and was a member of Company I of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, members of Company I were in defensive positions with the 3rd Battalion when they were attacked and received orders to withdraw. The 3rd Battalion was the last unit in the withdrawal sequence and experienced heavy and constant attacks by the CCF. Private First Class Spiller was reported missing during the withdrawal’s rear-guard action, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. He was not reported as a prisoner of war nor has he been identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Spiller is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency