Whitemore, William Francis
Army Corporal

William Francis Whitemore, age 24, from Rock Island County Rock Island, Illinois .

Spouse: Married

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant William Francis Whitemore, who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on November 30, 1950, as his unit was withdrawing from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. No one saw him fall, and his body was not recovered after the battle. There is no evidence that he was ever held as a prisoner of war, and his remains have not been returned to U.S. custody. Sergeant Whitemore is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Rock Island Argus (1951)