Baron, John
Army Private 1st class

John Baron from Rhode Island, Providence county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, January 25, 1951
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Corporal John Baron, who joined the U.S. Army from Rhode Island, served with Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was taken prisoner of war on or about August 11, 1950, near Chochiwon, South Korea. After his capture, he was marched to the Apex prison camps in North Korea, and on January 25, 1951, he died of exhaustion and pneumonia while en route and was buried where he fell. His remains have not been recovered or identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Baron is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency