Emerson, James Louis
Army Private 1st class

James Louis Emerson, age 19, from Phillips County Arkansas.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Tuesday, February 13, 1951
Death details: On February 5, 1951, Allied forces in Korea launched an offensive against North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) north of Wonju. Republic of Korea units and the 38th Infantry Regiment and supporting artillery units, including the 15th and 503rd Field Artillery Battalions, and the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery and Automatic Weapons Battalion, initially met light resistance on their drive to the north. On February 11, the CCF launched an aggressive counteroffensive that caused the Allies to withdraw back southward. However, the CCF had established a series of roadblocks on the road to the south, forcing the Allies to fight their way back to friendly lines. Corporal James Louis Emerson, who joined the U.S. Army from Arkansas, served with Battery D, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was wounded and captured by enemy forces on February 13, 1951, during his unit’s withdrawal from Hongcheon south to Hoensong and Wonju. He was marched north by his captors, however, a leg wound that was further complicated by frostbite made him unable to walk without assistance from two companion prisoners of war (POWs). When the group reached the North and South Korea border, CPL Emerson and his two companion POWs escaped their guards. During the incident, one of the corporal’s companions killed a guard and he and the other companion eluded searchers and escaped; however, CPL Emerson was recaptured and taken to the Suan Mining Camp where he was put on trial for the murder of the guard, found guilty in a show trial, and executed. Although CPL Emerson was buried near the Suan Mining Camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Corporal Emerson 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, Times Picayune (1951)