Thurman Benjamin Hetzler, age 23, from Ohio, Shelby county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Tuesday, September 11, 1951
Death details: On April 25, 1951, elements of the 24th Infantry Division, including the 21st Infantry Regiment and the 5th Regimental Combat Team, which was attached to the division at the time, were dug into positions north of Seoul, South Korea, where massive Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) had regrouped after their previous attempts to penetrate the valley areas east of Seoul. The CCF launched a renewed offensive against these positions, and despite fierce resistance, could not be stopped. Full enemy divisions were committed in succession, passing around or through their own lines to engage severely outnumbered friendly forces. For several miles, a withdrawal by stages unfolded. Artillery and tanks covered movement after movement, using slight rises in terrain to their full defensive value. The U.S. units suffered heavy casualties and had many men captured during these successive rear guard actions. Private First Class Thurman B. Hetzler, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served with L Company, 3rd Battalion, 19th Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured on April 25, 1951, as his unit, withdrawing south and under heavy attack, attempted to circumvent a roadblock set up by Chinese Communist Forces west of the Hwach-on Reservoir. PFC Hetzler died of malnutrition on September 11, 1951 at the “Mining Camp” in North Korea. His burial location is unknown, and his remains were not identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Private First Class Hetzler is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
