Abele, Francis Howard
Army Sergeant

Francis Howard Abele, age 27, from New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven county.

Parents: Harry Abele

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, November 5, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant First Class Francis Howard Abele entered the U.S. Army from Connecticut and served in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was killed in action southeast of Unsan, North Korea, on November 5, 1950, as his unit fought off encroaching CCF. His remains have not been recovered or identified, and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant First Class Abele is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Meriden Journal (1950)