Burrell, Matthew
Army Corporal

Matthew Burrell, age 35, from Rapides County Louisiana.

Spouse: Bessie Lee Burrell (died in 2003)

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant Matthew Burrell, who joined the U.S. Army from Louisiana, served with Battery C, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. On December 1, 1950, his artillery unit provided covering fire to soldiers of the 38th Infantry Regiment during their withdrawal south to Sunchon, firing continuously until they were overrun by the enemy. SGT Burrell went missing in action during the battle. No one saw him fall, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. His body was not recovered, and after the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S.custody. Today, Sergeant Burrell 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, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Town Talk (2003), Shreveport Journal (1954)