Stanks, Theodore
Army Private

Theodore Stanks, age 18, from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, Luzerne county.

Parents: Agnes Stanks

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 Theodore Stanks joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and was a member of Battery C of the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Battery C was supporting the 8th Cavalry Regiment near Unsan, when it received orders to join with elements of the 3rd Battalion. While traveling down the Unsan-Ipsok road, Battery C met enemy-established roadblocks and was soon surrounded. It was at some point during this movement that PFC Stanks went missing, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. He was not reported as a prisoner of war and his remains have not been identified among any returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Stanks is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Wilkes Barre Times Leader