Sedgwick County Kansas

Vernon G. Schieffer, age 18, from Kansas, Sedgwick county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Thursday, July 9, 1953
Death details: On July 6, 1953, a large Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) unit attacked and overran the U.S. Army outposts on Pork Chop Hill in an attempt to seize whatever territory possible before the impending armistice agreement. After fighting for the position for four days, on July 10, the 7th Infantry Division Commander determined that the CCF disregard for casualties and desire to hold the outpost outweighed the position’s tactical value, and ordered a withdrawal that was eventually completed on July 11. The U.S. never again controlled Pork Chop Hill, preventing thorough recovery efforts for those who were killed or went missing during the fighting. First Lieutenant Vernon Gail Schieffer, who joined the U.S. Army from Kansas, served with Company K, 3rd Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was killed in action on July 9 as his unit fought Chinese troops for control of Pork Chop Hill. Conditions on the battlefield prevented the immediate recovery of his body, and U.S. forces never regained control of the area where he fell, which became part of the Demilitarized Zone after the ceasefire. His remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, First Lieutenant Schieffer is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency