Maroni, John
Army Private 1st class

John Maroni, age 30, from Scranton, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna county.

Parents: Margaret Maroni

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. Corporal John Maroni joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and was a member of Battery C of the 99th Field Artillery Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Battery C was near Unsan, supporting the 8th Cavalry Regiment when it joined with elements of the 3rd Battalion at its Command Post for a movement out of the area. It became surrounded with the 3rd Battalion by the enemy and cut off from other units. Corporal Maroni went missing during this action, either while attempting to make it to Ipsok on foot or possibly while trapped behind the lines in 3rd Battalion’s Command Post. He was not reported as a prisoner of war and his remains have not been identified among any returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Maroni is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Scranton Tribune (1950)