Washington County Wisconsin

Jerome H. Stoffel from Wisconsin, Washington county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Wednesday, July 9, 1952
Death details: 

On July 9, 1952, Company B, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, attempted to re-take a hill near Pokkae, North Korea, on the Main Line of Resistance near the 38th Parallel separating North and South Korea. Chinese troops manning the hill managed to stave off the attack, and the men of Company B retreated back to friendly lines for a headcount. where they discovered several of their number were missing in action.

Sergeant First Class Jerome Henry Stoffel, who joined the U.S. Army from Wisconsin, served with Company B, 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action after his unit’s attack on the CCF-held hill near Pokkae, North Korea. 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 after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant First Class Stoffel is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Merlin A. Heinecke from Wisconsin, Washington county.

Service era: Korea

Date of death: Saturday, December 2, 1950
Death details: 

On the evening of November 27, 1950, Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) launched a massive attack against the U.S. and United Nations troops stationed in the Chosin Reservoir area in northeast North Korea, resulting in a seventeen-day conflict that became known as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. At the time of the initial CCF attack, members the U.S. Army’s 31st and 32nd Infantry Regiments were defending the area north of Sinhung-ni, on the east side of the reservoir. The defenders were overwhelmed by the numerically superior CCF, and on December 1, were forced to withdraw to friendly lines at Hagaru-ri. Chinese roadblocks from Sinhung-ni to Hagaru-ri along with the constant enemy fire from the surrounding high ground, made the withdrawal route extremely dangerous. Eventually, the column was broken into separate segments, which the CCF attacked individually. Many men were lost or captured during the moving battle, with survivors reaching friendly lines in Hagaru-ri on December 2 and 3.

Sergeant First Class Merlin Alfred Heinecke entered the U.S. Army from Wisconsin and was a member of the Heavy Mortar Company, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. His company was operating as part of the 31st Regimental Combat Team when SFC Heinecke was reported missing in action on December 2, at some point during the withdrawal from Sinhung-ni to Hagaru-ri. Specific details regarding SFC Heinecke’s loss are unknown. He was not reported on any shared prisoner of war lists, and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Sergeant First Class Heinecke is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency