Harper, Howard Ray
Army Private 1st class

Howard Ray Harper from Kentucky, Muhlenberg 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. Private First Class Howard Ray Harper, who joined the U.S. Army from Kentucky, served with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 31st Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was killed in action during the CCF counterattacks on November 30, 1950, and the 31st RCT was forced to withdraw from the area before they could recover his remains. He was not identified among the remains returned to U.S. custody after the war, and is still unaccounted for. Today, Private First Class Harper is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency