Kohlbeck, Kenneth John
Marines Corporal

Kenneth John Kohlbeck from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Manitowoc county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Monday, November 27, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, a huge Chinese force launched an attack against the U.S. and United Nations (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. After a fierce defense, U.S. and UN forces attempted to withdraw south from the Chosin Reservoir to the port of Hungnam. A single seventy-eight-mile roadway connecting the reservoir to Hungnam offered the only retreat route, and the withdrawing men faced significant enemy resistance as they traveled down it, attempting to avoid encirclement. After suffering heavy casualties, the U.S. and UN troops eventually broke through Chinese lines and reached Hungnam. Corporal Kenneth John Kohlbeck, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Wisconsin, served with Company G, 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was killed in action on November 27, 1950, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir as his unit was attempting to gain control of Hill 1426 near Yudam-ni. He was given a field burial near where he fell on the hill, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Kohlbeck is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency