Jackson Heights New York

William Francis Murphy from Queens County Jackson Heights, New York .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Unknown
Death details: On February 5, 1951, Allied forces in Korea launched an offensive against North Korean and Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) north of Wonju. Republic of Korea units and the 38th Infantry Regiment and supporting artillery units, including the 15th and 503rd Field Artillery Battalions, and the 82nd Antiaircraft Artillery and Automatic Weapons Battalion, initially met light resistance on their drive to the north. On February 11, the CCF launched an aggressive counteroffensive that caused the Allies to withdraw back southward. However, the CCF had established a series of roadblocks on the road to the south, forcing the Allies to fight their way back to friendly lines. Private First Class William Francis Murphy entered the U.S. Army from New York and was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was taken as a prisoner of war (POW) by enemy forces during the Regiment’s fighting withdrawal in February 1951. After his capture, he was transferred north toward the POW camps on the Yalu River, and died of illness and exhaustion at some point in mid-May 1951, either in Camp 1 at Changsong or in a holding area just before reaching the camp. U.S. investigators have not been able to access the area to search for his burial site, and he has not been associated with any of the remains later returned to U.S. custody. Today, Private First Class Murphy 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, The Times Union (1953)