Cruz-Perez, Nicolas
Army Sergeant

Nicolas Cruz-Perez from Puerto Rico.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, June 10, 1953
Death details: Late at night on June 10, 1953, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched an attack against an important American outpost known as “Outpost Harry,” which commanders had deemed a “major outpost…to be held at all costs.” Following hours of intense bombardment, Chinese infantry attacked the American trench lines in front of the outpost. The CCF succeeded in capturing the trenches but intense hand-to-hand combat kept the CCF from advancing farther. Attacks persisted through the next day and late into June 11. By the morning of June 12, the Chinese forces withdrew. Similar assaults continued on “Outpost Harry” through the next week. Sergeant Nicolas Cruz-Perez entered the U.S. Army from Puerto Rico and served in K Company, 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action during the CCF assault on “Outpost Harry.” SGT Cruz-Perez’s remains were not recovered following his loss, and he has not been associated with any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Cruz-Perez is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency