Taylor, John Joseph
Army Private 1st Class

John Joseph Taylor, age 20, from Massachusetts, Suffolk county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, July 11, 1951
Death details: On April 22, 1951, elements of the 24th Infantry Division along with the 5th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) were dug into positions near Seoul, South Korea, where the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) had regrouped and begun a large-scale effort to penetrate the valley areas east of Seoul. Just prior to the main CCF offensive, the 5th RCT was executing part of a blocking action known as Operation Dauntless, in which its 1st and 2nd Battalions launched an attack against CCF forces in the Chorwon Valley to the north. They pushed the enemy out of the area and set up defensive positions, but the CCF soon regrouped and returned with a massive counterattack. While this assault was repelled, heavy pressure over the next eight days forced the 24th Infantry Division, along with the 5th RCT, to gradually fall back to stronger positions. The U.S. units suffered heavy casualties over the course of the fighting and withdrawal. Corporal John Joseph Taylor entered the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and served in the Medical Company of the 5th Regimental Combat Team, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured on April 23, 1951, during the 5th RCT’s withdrawal, and then marched with other prisoners to holding camps in North Korea. CPL Taylor died of dysentery and malnutrition while still captive at Chongsong POW camp on July 11, 1951, and was buried nearby. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Taylor is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency