Bailey, Max Leon
Army Private 1st class

Max Leon Bailey from Idaho, Jerome county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 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, arrived at the P’ungnyuri Inlet. That night, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a surprise attack against the 31st RCT. Although the Chinese were numerically superior, the 31st RCT managed to repel the initial attack. The CCF attacked again on the night of November 28, and late on the morning of November 29 the men occupying the northernmost perimeter conducted a fighting withdrawal to consolidate with the rest of the RCT in the perimeter south of the P’ungnyuri Inlet. The CCF continued their attacks on the consolidated perimeter, and on the night of November 30, the Chinese launched a massive attack. On December 1, the 31st RCT began to withdraw from the P’ungnyuri Inlet to Hagaru-ri. Heavy fighting occurred during the withdrawal and many more men were lost. Remnants of the 31st RCT began arriving at Hagaru-ri on December 2. The CCF then attacked the village, and the 31st began to withdraw to Hamhung on December 6, 1950. Corporal Max Leon Bailey, who joined the U.S. Army from Idaho, served with the Heavy Mortar Company, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. His unit was part of the 31st Regimental Combat Team, and he was reported missing during the CCF counterattacks on November 30, 1950, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. No one saw him fall, and he was never reported to be a prisoner of war. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Corporal Bailey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency