West, John William
Army Corporal

John William West, age 31, from Texas, Tarrant 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 John William West joined the U.S. Army from Texas and served in the Medical Company of the 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, he and other members of the Medical Company were supporting 8th Cavalry Regiment elements near Unsan when they received orders to withdraw. Sergeant West went missing during the withdrawal, though circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown. He was not reported as a prisoner of war, and he was not identified among remains returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Sergeant West is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency