Moffitt, James Richard
Marine Corps Private 1st Class

James Richard Moffitt, age 23, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon 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 James Richard Moffitt entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Illinois and served with C Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He was killed in action on March 26, 1953, during the attack on Outpost Reno, though specific details of his loss are not known. The area of his loss never returned to friendly control, precluding a search for his remains. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Moffitt is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency