Smith, George Robert
Army Private
George Robert Smith from Montana, Jefferson county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, December 12, 1950
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Corporal George Robert Smith, who joined the U.S. Army from Montana, served with L Company, 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by enemy forces on July 11 during his unit’s delaying actions between Pyongtaek and Chochiwon. He was forced to march to the Apex prison camps in North Korea, and died of malnutrition at the camp at Hanjang-ni on December 12, 1950. Although his companions buried him near the camp, his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Corporal Smith is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency