Downs, Morgan Leo
Army Sergeant 1st class
Morgan Leo Downs, age 33, from Lewis County Onalaska, Washington .
Service era: Korea
Military history: Silver Star
Date of death: Saturday, July 8, 1950
Death details: In early July 1950, the U.S. Army’s 34th Infantry Regiment was occupying defensive positions just above the village of P’yongt’aek, South Korea, when it came under attack by the North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) 4th Division. The 34th Infantry had previously been on garrison duty in Japan and were not yet back up to combat strength. The NKPA attack was led by tanks; vastly outnumbered and lacking effective anti-tank weapons, the 34th Infantry was completely overwhelmed. They were forced to move south to Ch’onan where hasty defensive positions were established along two roads leading further south. However, the NKPA continued its relentless attack and again pushed the 34th Infantry out of their fighting positions, driving them down the Osan-Ch’onan road. After another brief but sharp battle on the morning of July 8, the Americans began a general withdrawal south to the Kum River Line, where U.S. forces would organize a defense in the hope of keeping the NKPA from reaching Taejon. During this series of fighting withdrawals, many U.S. soldiers were killed or captured by the enemy. Sergeant First Class Morgan Leo Downs entered the U.S. Army from Washington and was a member of Headquarters Company, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was killed in action during these fighting withdrawals. Battlefield conditions prevented the recovery of his remains at the time of his loss, and he is still unaccounted for. Today, Sergeant First Class Downs 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 Tribune (1950)