Sherman, Earl William
Army Master sergeant

Earl William Sherman, age 30, from Prince Georges County Laurel, Maryland .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, July 20, 1950
Death details: On July 20, 1950, the 3rd Battalion of the U.S. 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, was holding a defensive line in South Korea overlooking the Taejon Airport, northeast of the city. When enemy tanks broke through the line near the airport, U.S. troops were ordered to fall back through Taejon. The 3rd Battalion was ordered to lead the convoy out of Taejon, but ran into a series of collapsed structures and roadblocks that broke up the column. U.S. forces were unable to break through these roadblocks, and to avoid capture soldiers moved off-road and began filtering through the countryside in small groups. Master Sergeant Earl William Sherman joined the U.S. Army from Maryland and was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action at some point during the fighting in and around Taejon on July 20, 1950. Master Sergeant Sherman was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and his remains have not been recovered or identified. Today, Master Sergeant Sherman 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, Evening Star (1950)