Trompics, William Bernard
Army Private 1st class

William Bernard Trompics, age 21, from Detroit, Michigan, Wayne county.

Parents: John P. Tompics

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, April 25, 1951
Death details: On April 25, 1951, elements of the 24th Infantry Division, including the 21st Infantry Regiment and the 5th Regimental Combat Team, which was attached to the division at the time, were dug into positions north of Seoul, South Korea, where massive Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) had regrouped after their previous attempts to penetrate the valley areas east of Seoul. The CCF launched a renewed offensive against these positions, and despite fierce resistance, could not be stopped. Full enemy divisions were committed in succession, passing around or through their own lines to engage severely outnumbered friendly forces. For several miles, a withdrawal by stages unfolded. Artillery and tanks covered movement after movement, using slight rises in terrain to their full defensive value. The U.S. units suffered heavy casualties and had many men captured during these successive rear guard actions. Corporal William Bernard Trompics, who joined the U.S. Army from Michigan, was a member of K Company, 3rd Battalion, 19th Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action during the heavy fighting on April 25. He was never seen in enemy custody, and he remains unaccounted for. Today, Corporal Trompics is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Lansing State Journal (1951)