Arthur Paul Carlsen, age 19, from Bayonne, Florida, Citrus county.
Parents: Arthur C. Carlsen
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Private Arthur Paul Carlsen, who joined the U.S. Army from Florida, was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company L was supporting other 8th Cavalry Regiment elements near Unsan when it was hit by an enemy mortar and infantry attack and forced to withdraw back to the 3rd Battalion’s command post. Units faced continued enemy attacks during the Regimental withdrawal, and at some point during the action Private Carlsen went missing. He was not seen following the withdrawal, and he was never reported as a prisoner of war. His remains were not recovered, and he was not identified among the remains returned to the U.S. following the armistice. Today, Private Carlsen is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Camden Courier Post
