Adams, John Quincy
Army Private

John Quincy Adams, age 17, from Maricopa County Arizona.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, July 27, 1950
Death details: In late July of 1950, members of the 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, served as part of U.S. forces defending Korea from the advancing North Korean People’s Army (NKPA). On July 24, they were attached to the 19th Infantry Regiment, which was positioned at the southern portion of the American defensive line. On July 25, they received a warning to secure the Hadong Pass in South Korea before the NKPA arrived there. Upon the Americans’ arrival on July 27, they were ambushed by a large enemy force. Despite mounting a fierce resistance, the 19th Infantry Regiment and attached units were unable to stop the NKPA from capturing the pass. The 3rd Battalion suffered significant casualties as a result of the battle. Private John Quincy Adams, who joined the U.S. Army from Arizona, was a member of M Company, 3rd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured on or about July 27, 1950, during the fighting at Hadong Pass, South Korea. The North Koreans executed him at Sunchon, North Korea, and U.S. Graves Registration forces interred his remains at the United Nations Military Cemetery at Pyongyang. The North Koreans evacuated that cemetery in 1954, though we do not know to date if PVT Adams’ remains were returned as an unknown. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private Adams is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Korean War Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC, which was updated in 2022 to include the names of the fallen.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency