Mathers, Leonard John
Army Sergeant

Leonard John Mathers, age 19, from Chautauqua County Dunkirk, New York .

Parents: Ralph J. Mathers

Service era: Korea
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment

Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: On November 25, 1950, the U.S. Army 2nd and 25th Infantry Divisions were holding defensive positions south of the town of Unsan, North Korea, below the Yalu River. On November 26 and 27, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) attacked the U.S. troops, pushing them through the towns of Ung-dong and Yongsan-dong, and on to Yongbyon, where they were given orders to establish new defensive lines. Sergeant First Class Leonard John Mathers entered the U.S. Army from New York and served with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on November 28, during this withdrawal to Yongbyon. No one saw SFC Mathers fall in battle and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant First Class Mathers 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, 35th Infantry Regiment Association, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Buffalo News (1951)