Cordle, Charles O.
Army Private

Charles O. Cordle, age 31, from Franklin County Columbus, Ohio .

Parents: Ann Copeland

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, August 6, 1950
Death details: In early August 1950, members of the U.S. Army’s 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, were defending a bulge in the Naktong River in South Korea as part of a defensive formation known as the Pusan Perimeter. The U.S., United Nations, and South Korean forces were attempting to protect the critical Pusan Harbor from the invading North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) while waiting for U.S. reinforcements to arrive. On August 6, the NKPA initiated a large-scale attack on the perimeter with intentions of capturing capture the town of Taegu, located around the center of the Allied lines. The bulge in the Naktong where the 34th Infantry was positioned was notoriously difficult to defend, and that night, an NKPA battalion slipped through a gap in the perimeter and took positions behind the regiment’s front. The regiment sent its 1st Battalion to repel the NKPA infiltrators, which it did, despite encountering stiff resistance and suffering numerous casualties. Private First Class Charles Overton Cordle, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. C Company led the effort to clear out the NKPA battalion that had infiltrated behind friendly lines, and PFC Cordle went missing in action during the fighting. He was never reported confirmed as a prisoner of war, and his remains have not been recovered or identified. Today, Private First Class Cordle 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, Associated Press (1954)