Enrique Hector Mello, age 21, from California, San Francisco county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Wednesday, July 8, 1953
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. Corporal Enrique Hector Mello, who joined the U.S. Army from California, served with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was killed during the heavy fighting on July 8 when Chinese troops temporarily overran his unit’s outpost on Pork Chop Hill. Conditions on the battlefield prevented the immediate recovery of his remains, and the area where he fell was never again controlled by U.S. forces. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Mello is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency