Johnson, Clifford Richard
Army Private 1st class
Clifford Richard Johnson, age 19, from Saint Clair County Port Huron, Michigan .
Parents: George H. Johnson
Service era: Korea
Schools: Marysville High
Date of death: Thursday, August 10, 1950
Death details: On August 6, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 19th Infantry Regiment was ordered into action in the vicinity of Kung-ni, tasked with helping the 34th Infantry Regiment check enemy advances across the Naktong River. The next day, the 1st Battalion of the 19th Regiment succeeded in trapping 300 enemy soldiers in the small village of Chongdong-ni. The 2nd Battalion was ordered to Chongdong-ni to help clear out the village; however, rugged terrain and oncoming darkness slowed the 2nd Battalion’s movement, and they didn’t reach the village until August 8. By that time, the 1st Battalion had been heavily engaged for over twenty-four hours and had sustained numerous casualties. Corporal Clifford Richard Johnson, who joined the U.S. Army from Michigan, served with E Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. On August 10, 1950, he was wounded in battle near the Naktong River, and died before unit members could get him to an aid station. Although his fellow soldiers believed that he was buried in a cemetery near Pusan, his remains could not be located after the war. Today, Corporal Johnson 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, Times Herald (1950)
