King, James Earl
Army Sergeant

James Earl King, age 19, from West Virginia, Kanawha county.

Parents: Luther King

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. Sergeant First Class James Earl King, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. By midnight on November 1, 1950, the 8th Cavalry Regiment was forced to withdraw from the Unsan area to avoid encirclement by the enemy. While leaving the area north of Unsan, C Company was attacked by an enemy force. After fighting through, they joined the rest of the 1st Battalion as they passed through Unsan, which the CCF had thoroughly infiltrated. The enemy established roadblocks on the road out of Unsan, and launched persistent attacks against the withdrawing troops. Sergeant First Class King was killed in action during this battle. The exact circumstances surrounding his loss are unknown, and his remains have not been recovered. Today, Sergeant First Class King is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Chillicothe Gazette (1950), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency