Lewis, Joseph Jr.
Marine Corps Private 1st class

Joseph Jr. Lewis, age 18, from Gridley, California, Butte county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, March 26, 1953
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class Joseph Lewis Jr. joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California and was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action during the fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex on March 26, 1953. Private First Class Lewis was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the conflict’s ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Lewis is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency