Watts, James Edgar
Army Corporal

James Edgar Watts, age 25, from California, Los Angeles 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. Sergeant James Edgar Watts entered the U.S. Army from California and served with Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Headquarters Company was near Unsan with the 1st Battalion. The unit came under heavy attacks and received orders to withdraw. Nearly surrounded and besieged by CCF, withdrawing American units became trapped and some dug inside foxholes or behind bunkers. Sergeant Watts became missing during the withdrawal and most likely fell in a rear-guard action during the night, though specific details surrounding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war nor was he identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant Watts is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency