Clarence Ervin Patterson, age 21, from Alabama, Montgomery county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, March 4, 1951
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. Private First Class Clarence Ervin Patterson, who joined the U.S. Army from North Carolina, served with Company A, 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on July 6 when Chinese troops attacked and overran his unit’s outpost on Pork Chop Hill. Battlefield conditions prevented an immediate search for him, and within days U.S. forces withdrew from the hill, leaving it under Chinese control. The circumstances of PFC Patterson’s loss are unknown, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Patterson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency