Brewer Maine

Leon Eugene Andrews, age 24, from Brewer, Maine, Penobscot county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Sunday, December 3, 1950
Death details: On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive attack against the U.S. and United Nations (UN) troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in north-east North Korea. The resulting seventeen-day conflict became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members of the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1 were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Many men were lost or captured during the withdraw, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3. Once at Hagaru-ri, the survivors of the withdrawal manned a section of the perimeter near East Hill, a strong defensive position overlooking the town. On the night of December 3, the Chinese attacked the Hagaru-ri perimeter and overwhelmed the defenders there. Many Americans were killed or went missing during these actions. Corporal Leon Eugene Andrews entered the U.S. Army from Maine and served with F Company, 2nd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On December 3, 1950, he was killed in action during the combat near East Hill, though specific details surrounding his death are unknown. Following his loss, CPL Andrews was buried at Koto-ri Cemetery; however, his remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. He remains unaccounted for. Today, Corporal Andrews is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Portland Press Herald (1951)