Naktong River 1 September 1950

Cowart, Charles C
Army Corporal

Charles C Cowart, age 24, from Los Angeles County Torrance, California .

Parents: Teresa Cowart

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, September 1, 1950
Death details: In late August 1950, U.S. forces in Korea were primarily stationed along the Pusan Perimeter, a defensive formation around the town of Pusan, South Korea, with the outer edge along the eastern shore of the Naktong River. The perimeter was intended to prevent forces from the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) from reaching the harbor in Pusan. On August 31, members of A and B Companies of the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division were stationed on the eastern shore of the Naktong, west of the small town of Yongsan, South Korea. They were holding the “Naktong Bulge,” a prominent peninsula created by turns in the river’s course. That night, the NKPA initiated a large-scale offensive in hopes of driving any United Nations (U.N.) forces out of Korea. Under the cover of fog, the enemy advanced over the Naktong and heavy fighting broke out with Companies A and B taking the brunt of the attack. Despite a spirited defense, the American troops were overrun and forced to fall back by the early morning of September 1. Sergeant Charles Clinton Cowart, who joined the U.S. Army from California, was a member of A Company of the 1st Battalion, 9th Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was lost at some point during the desperate fighting on August 31. He was never seen as a prisoner of war, and searches of the Naktong area following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful in locating SGT Cowart’s remains. Today, Sergeant Cowart 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, News Pilot (1950)

Slaten, Waymon
Army Private 1st class

Waymon Slaten, age 18, from Marshall County Arab, Alabama .

Parents: Johnny W. Slaten

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, September 1, 1950
Death details: On August 14, 2024, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Waymon Slaten, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Slaten entered the U.S. Army from Alabama and was a member of B Company of the 1st Battalion, 9th Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On August 31, members of Cpl Slaten’s company were stationed on the eastern shore of the Naktong River, along the Pusan Perimeter, a defensive formation around the town of Pusan, South Korea. That night, North Korean People’s Army forces initiated a large-scale offensive across the Naktong and infiltrated the positions of the 1st Battalion. The battalion’s B Company was driven from its positions on both Hill 209 and Hill 311 west of Yongsan. Cpl Slaten was lost in the fighting and was subsequently declared missing in action. In 1953 the U.S. Army issued him a presumptive finding of death. On October 22, 1950, American Graves Registration Service had recovered a set of remains from the ground surface at the base of Hill 209, approximately 11 miles west of Yongsan, where Cpl Slaten was reported missing. However, those remains could not be identified at the time, and they were buried as unknown in the United Nations Military Cemetery, Tanggok, South Korea. In 1954, this set of remains was reexamined, but still could not be identified, and the remains were ultimately interred as an Unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. In May 2021, as part of phase 3 of DPAA’s Korean War Disinterment Project, this Unknown was as disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for further study. The laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established the remains as those of Cpl Slaten. Corporal Slaten 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, Advertiser Gleam (1954)

Story, Luther H.
Army Private 1st class

Luther H. Story, age 19, from Sumter County Americus, Georgia .

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, September 1, 1950
Death details: On April 6, 2023, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Luther Herschel Story, missing from the Korean War. Corporal Luther Herschel Story entered the U.S. Army from Georgia and served in A Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. On August 31, 1950, this unit held a defensive position on the Naktong River, South Korea. Numerically superior enemy forces assaulted the company’s position, but CPL Story displayed conspicuous bravery in repelling several enemy attacks. By the next day, the company was forced to withdraw. Wounded, CPL Story chose to remain behind and cover the withdrawal of his comrades. He was last seen continuing to fire on the enemy with every weapon available to him. He was never reported as a prisoner of war and was eventually declared killed in action. For his actions on September 1, 1950, CPL Story was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. In October 1950, U.S. personnel recovered remains in the area where CPL Story fell, but they could not be identified with the forensic techniques available at the time and were buried as an Unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. In June 2021, as part of an ongoing effort to disinter and identify Korean War Unknowns, these remains were moved to a DPAA laboratory for further study. The scientific analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established the remains as those of CPL Story. Corporal Story 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, Atlanta Journal (1951)

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