Strom, John Oscar
Army Private 1st class

John Oscar Strom, age 27, from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, Otter Tail county.

Parents: John Strom

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: On April 11, 2005, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal John Oscar Strom, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Strom entered the U.S. Army from Minnesota and served with Company D, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, Company D was supporting elements of the 1st Cavalry Division near Unsan, North Korea. That day, Chinese Communist Forces struck the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing the perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. CPL Strom’s battalion withdrew to friendly lines south of the Kuryong River, but he was killed in action during this movement. Details surrounding his loss are unknown, and his remains were not recovered at the time. In 2002, a joint U.S./North Korean investigation team visited a site near Unsan where they recovered human remains, and U.S. analysts subsequently identified CPL Strom from these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Minneapolis Star Tribune