Chester Tim Thrailkill, age 19, from Georgia, Fulton 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 Chester Tim Thrailkill joined the U.S. Army from Georgia and was a member of Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company E was in defensive positions with the 2nd Battalion near Unsan, when it was nearly surrounded by the CCF, came under heavy fire, and was forced to withdraw. Sergeant Thrailkill was captured during the withdrawal from the Unsan area. His group was marched, along with other 8th Cavalry prisoners of war (POW), to Camp 5 at Pyoktong on the Yalu River. Two POWs who were released by the Chinese three weeks after the battle mentioned Sergeant Thrailkill died of wounds while still in the Unsan battle area on November 12, 1950. He has not been identified among any remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant Thrailkill is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives