Law, John Allen
Marines Private 1st class
John Allen Law, age 20, from Kansas, Trego county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, March 26, 1953
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class John Allen Law entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Kansas and served with C Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action on March 26, 1953, during the attack on Outpost Reno. He was never reported as a prisoner of war and the area of his loss never returned to friendly control, precluding a search for his remains. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Law is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class Jay Mann joined the U.S. Marine Corps from New Jersey and was a member of H Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action during the fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex on March 26, 1953. Private First Class Mann was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the conflict’s ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Mann is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class Bernard Joseph Belfe joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Maryland and was a member of H Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action during his unit’s fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex on March 26, 1953. He was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Belfe is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class Gerald Francis Martin joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Michigan and was a member of H Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action during the fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex on March 26, 1953. Private First Class Martin was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody following the conflict’s ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Martin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Death details: In late March 1953, elements of the 1st Marine Division manned a string of outposts along a 33-mile section of the main line of resistance on the Korean Peninsula, near the present-day Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The 1st Marine Division’s 5th Marine Regiment was responsible for three of these outposts, named Carson, Reno, and Vegas, or collectively “the Nevada Cities Complex.” On March 26, Chinese Communist Forces attacked all three outposts. Although Carson managed to stave off the assault, Reno and Vegas, which were more lightly manned, eventually succumbed to the enemy. Over 1,000 Marines were killed, wounded, or went missing during the attack on the Nevada Cities Complex. Private First Class Rex Delane Gibson joined the U.S. Marine Corps from Missouri and was a member of H Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He went missing in action during the fighting at the Nevada Cities Complex on March 26, 1953. He was never reported to be a prisoner of war, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Private First Class Gibson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.