Alfred Edward Grablewski, age 19, from Cape May County Wildwood, New Jersey .
Parents: Cielia Rice
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, November 28, 1950
Death details: On November 27, 1950, the 31st Regimental Combat Team (RCT), tasked with replacing the 5th Marine Regiment on the east side of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea, arrived at the P’ungnyuri Inlet. That night, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive surprise attack against the soldiers and Marines at the inlet. The 31st RCT managed to repel the numerically superior CCF’s initial attack; however, the enemy continued to attack over the next two nights. On December 1, the 31st RCT began its withdrawal from the P’ungnyuri Inlet to Hagaru-ri. Corporal Alfred Edward Grablewski, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with Headquarters Battery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. He was killed in action on November 28, 1950, during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir when a Chinese soldier threw a grenade into the temporary headquarters building at P’ungnyuri Inlet. The tactical situation on the battlefield forced the unit to leave their dead behind when they withdrew to Hagaru-ri on December 1, and Cpl Grablewski’s remains were not located or identified after the war. Today, Corporal Grablewski 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, Philadelphia Inquirer (195)
