Thompson, James Oscar
Army Master sergeant

James Oscar Thompson, age 35, from Scioto County Ohio.

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. Master Sergeant James Oscar Thompson Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served with the Medical Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On the night of November 27, 1950, MSgt Thompson was part of a medical convoy that left Hudong-ni, North Korea en route to the P’ungnyuri Inlet at Chosin Reservoir to aid the 31st RCT. The CCF ambushed the convoy at the base of Hill 1221, halfway to the inlet. Master Sergeant Thompson managed to escape the enemy and made his way back to Hundong-ni, where he volunteered to guide an armoured relief force to the site of the ambush. When the relief force reached Hill 1221, MSgt Thompson was killed by a sniper as he and two officers conferred over a map. The relief force was forced to withdraw before they were able to recover his body. After the war, MSgt Thompson’s remains were not identified amon those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Master Sergeant Thompson 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