Douglas County Minnesota

Walter Herman Gruebbeling, age 35, from Minnesota, Douglas 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. Sergeant First Class Walter Herman Gruebbeling, who joined the U.S. Army from Minnesota, served with I Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on December 3, 1950, as the CCF attacked U.S. defensive lines around Hagaru-ri. No one saw him fall during the battle, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. After the war, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Sergeant First Class Gruebbeling is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency