Chancery, Joseph Dile
Army Private 1st class

Joseph Dile Chancery, age 20, from Escambia County Flomaton, Alabama .

Parents: George L. Chancery

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: On November 27, 1950, the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), tasked with replacing the 5th Marine Regiment on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, arrived at the P’ungnyuri Inlet. That night, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive surprise attack against the soldiers and Marines at the inlet. The 31st RCT managed to repel the numerically superior CCF’s initial attack; however, the enemy continued to attack over the next two nights. On December 1, the 31st RCT began its withdrawal from the P’ungnyuri Inlet to Hagaru-ri. Private First Class Joseph Dile Chancery, who joined the U.S. Army from Alabama, served with Battery A, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on November 28, 1950, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, as his unit fought the CCF at the P’ungnyuri Inlet. The soldiers of Batteries A and B fought CCF troops hand-to-hand to prevent them from capturing the artillery pieces. When the 31st RCT withdrew from the P’ungnyuri Inlet, they were not able to evacuate Private First Class Chancery’s body. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Private First Class Chancery is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Flomaton Journal (1950)