Wallace Roger Lusk, age 35, from Hamilton County Chattanooga, Tennessee .
Parents: P. M. Lusk Sr.
Service era: Korea
Military history: World War II veteran, served in five major battles in Europe, beginning with the invasion of Normandy. He reenlisted about a year after discharge.
Date of death: Friday, September 1, 1950
Death details: In late July of 1950, reinforcements from the U.S. Army’s 2nd Infantry Division arrived in Pusan, South Korea, and within hours of their arrival were already being moved to the front lines along the Pusan Perimeter to help repel the invading North Korean People’s Army (NKPA). Troops were positioned along the eastern bank of the Naktong River, which was shallow enough to be crossed on foot in several places. On August 31, members of the 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, were defending the eastern shore of the Naktong, near the town of Yongsan, when at nightfall the NKPA advanced over the Naktong and began an offensive against American positions along the river. Heavy fighting broke out, and many of the 9th Infantry Regiment’s positions were overrun. Sergeant Wallace Roger Lusk, who joined the U.S. Army from Tennessee, was a member of E Company of the 2nd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On the night of August 31, his unit was stationed along the Naktong River and was involved in the moving battle that broke out after the NKPA attack. Sergeant Lusk was lost during the fighting that took place between August 31 and September 1. He was never seen in enemy custody as a prisoner of war, and attempts to locate his remains following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Sergeant Lusk 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, Chattanooga Daily Times (1954)
