Gablehouse, James Samuel
Army Private

James Samuel Gablehouse, age 21, from Utah, Carbon county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 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. Private First Class James Samuel Gablehouse joined the U.S. Army from Utah and was a member of Company E of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 1, 1950, members of Company E came under attack near Unsan and were soon forced to withdraw. Private First Class Gablehouse went missing when his unit was attacked by the CCF, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. He could not be located following the incident and he has not been identified among any remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Gablehouse is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Spokesman Review (1950)