Hilburn, Odis
Army Corporal

Odis Hilburn, age 25, from Perry County Bigelow, Arkansas .

Parents: Elger Hilburn

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Monday, February 12, 1951
Death details: On February 5, 1951, Allied forces in Korea launched an offensive against North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) north of Wonju. Republic of Korea units and the 38th Infantry Regiment and supporting artillery units, including the 15th and 503rd Field Artillery Battalions, and the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery and Automatic Weapons Battalion, initially met light resistance on their drive to the north. On February 11, the CCF launched an aggressive counteroffensive that caused the Allies to withdraw back southward. However, the CCF had established a series of roadblocks on the road to the south, forcing the Allies to fight their way back to friendly lines. Sergeant Odis Hilburn entered the U.S. Army from Arkansas and was a member of B Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action during the Regiment’s fighting withdrawal. Exact circumstances of his loss are unknown and the immediate tactical situation precluded a search for him. He was never reported as a prisoner of war and has not been associated with the remains later returned to U.S. custody. Today, Sergeant Hilburn 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, Times Record (1954)