Outpost collapse 12 June 1953

Afflerbach, Robert Eugene
Army 2nd lieutenant

Robert Eugene Afflerbach, age 23, from Winters, Texas, Runnels county.

Parents: Albert Afflerbach

Service era: Korea
Military history: 987 Field Artillery

Date of death: Friday, June 12, 1953
Death details: During the last two years of the Korean War, the opposing forces were arrayed across the 38th Parallel, with neither side able to make much progress into the other’s territory. Both sides maintained forward observer outposts, and these often proved to be targets of opportunity to the opposing force. On June 12, 1953, Battery A of the 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion was manning an outpost southeast of Kumsong-ni when Chinese Communist Forces began bombarding the outpost with heavy mortar fire. The outpost collapsed, killing the three soldiers inside. Second Lieutenant Robert Eugene Afflerbach, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served with Battery A, 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 40th Infantry Division. He was manning the outpost near Kumsong-ni and went missing following the engagement. He was not seen to fall in battle, and he was not reported to be a prisoner of war. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody following the war, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Afflerbach is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, San Angelo Standard Times (1953)

Rothenberger, George
Army 2nd Lieutenant

George Rothenberger, age 24, from New York City, New York, Queens county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, June 12, 1953
Death details: During the last two years of the Korean War, the opposing forces were arrayed across the 38th Parallel, with neither side able to make much progress into the other’s territory. Both sides maintained forward observer outposts, and these often proved to be targets of opportunity to the opposing force. On June 12, 1953, Battery A of the 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion was manning an outpost southeast of Kumsong-ni when Chinese Communist Forces began bombarding the outpost with heavy mortar fire. The outpost collapsed, killing the three soldiers inside. Second Lieutenant George John Rothenberger, who joined the U.S. Army from New York, served with Headquarters Battery, 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. He was one of the men lost when the outpost collapsed, and his remains were not identified among those later returned to U.S. custody. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Second Lieutenant Rothenberger is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Stine, Percy E. Jr.
Army Private 1st Class

Percy E. Jr. Stine, age 20, from Illinois, Cook county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, June 12, 1953
Death details: During the last two years of the Korean War, the opposing forces were arrayed across the 38th Parallel, with neither side able to make much progress into the other’s territory. Both sides maintained forward observer outposts, and these often proved to be targets of opportunity to the opposing force. On June 12, 1953, Battery A of the 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion was manning an outpost southeast of Kumsong-ni when Chinese Communist Forces began bombarding the outpost with heavy mortar fire. The outpost collapsed, killing the three soldiers inside. Corporal Percy Ellwood Stine Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Battery A, 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion, 40th Infantry Division. On June 12 he was serving as the radio telephone operator at this forward observer outpost, and was reported missing in action after the outpost collapsed under enemy shelling. His remains could not be immediately recovered, and after the war they were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody. Today, Corporal Stine is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Yelsky, Bernard
Army Corporal

Bernard Yelsky, age 21, from Ohio, Cuyahoga county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Friday, June 12, 1953
Death details: During the last two years of the Korean War, the opposing forces were arrayed across the 38th Parallel, with neither side able to make much progress into the other’s territory. Both sides maintained forward observer outposts, and these often proved to be targets of opportunity to the opposing force. On June 12, 1953, Battery A of the 987th Armored Field Artillery Battalion was manning an outpost southeast of Kumsong-ni when Chinese Communist Forces began bombarding the outpost with heavy mortar fire. The outpost collapsed, killing the three soldiers inside. Sergeant Bernard Yelsky, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served with Headquarters Battery, 987th Field Artillery Battalion, 40th Infantry Division. He was was one of the men lost when the outpost collapsed, and his remains were not identified among those later returned to U.S. custody. He is still unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant Yelsky is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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