Springborn, Robert William
Army Private 1st class

Robert William Springborn from Michigan, Saint Clair county.

Parents: Clyde A. Springborn

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. Corporal Robert William Springborn joined the U.S. Army from Michigan and was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company L was in defensive positions with the 3rd Battalion near Unsan, when the unit was hit by an enemy attack and forced to withdraw. The Battalion soon became surrounded and Corporal Springborn was captured during this action; specific details are unknown. He was eventually brought to Camp 5 at Old Pyoktong where he died shortly in January 1951 from malnutrition, dysentery, exhaustion and possibly pneumonia. He was buried by his companions on rising ground overlooking the camp, however, U.S. officials have not yet been able to search this area for his grave site. Today, Corporal Springborn is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Lansing State Journal (1950)