Hall, Richard Lee
Army Corporal

Richard Lee Hall, age 19, from Arapahoe County Englewood, Colorado .

Parents: Edward F. Hall

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, July 14, 1953
Death details: On July 13, 1953, the U.S. Army’s 555th Field Artillery Battalion was positioned to support the Republic of Korea (ROK) 6th Division along a stretch of line known as the Kumsong Salient, when the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive night attack. The 555th Field Artillery continued to fire in support of the ROK forces during the initial stage of the attack, despite coming under heavy enemy artillery fire themselves. However, early on July 14, CCF troops penetrated the ROK lines and were able to attack the 555th’s own positions. Several battery positions were overrun by the numerically superior attackers before a withdrawal order was received. By that point, few men were actually able to withdraw. Some managed to evade enemy forces and work their way back to friendly lines over the following days, but a number of the 555th Field Artillery’s men were captured by the enemy or went missing. The battlefield now lies on the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone separating North and South Korea. Corporal Richard Lee Hall, who entered the U.S. Army from Colorado, served with Battery C, 555th Field Artillery Battalion, 24th Infantry Division. On July 14, 1953, he was killed in action during this CCF attack. Records obtained after the war indicate that his body was identified shortly after the attack, but the threat of further hostilities prevented immediate recovery. Post-war search efforts have been impeded by the fact that the area of his loss now lies in North Korean territory and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Corporal Hall is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Associated Press (1953)