Jerome, Richard
Army Private

Richard Jerome, age 18, from Baltimore City County Maryland.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, July 30, 1950
Death details: On July 26, 1950, the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, and 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, were defending a section of the Poun-Hwanggan Highway from North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) elements advancing toward Kumch’on. On July 30-31, supported by tanks, the NKPA launched heavy attacks against the American battalions. After a hard-fought delaying action, the 7th Cavalry Regiment received orders to withdraw to support other units at Kumch’on, and the 8th Cavalry Regiment provided cover as they withdrew. Soon after, the 8th Cavalry Regiment withdrew to new positions as well. Though the action was largely successful in delaying the NKPA advance, the area still fell under North Korean control and prevented the recovery of any American remains until U.S. forces retook the area in mid-September. Private First Class Richard Jerome entered the U.S. Army from Maryland and served in H Company of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He went missing during the fighting on July 31, 1950, and reports indicate he was taken as a prisoner and marched north to Seoul, where his last name appears on a blackboard inside an abandoned schoolhouse that was used to hold prisoners. Surviving prisoners of war (POWs) who were interned with PFC Jerome reported that he had died en route to P’yöngyang. Attempts to recover his remains have been unsuccessful, and he was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Private First Class Jerome is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency