Larry Dale Palmer from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Parents: Luther D. Palmer
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, February 20, 1970
Death details: Hostile, killed in South Vietnam.
Source: National Archives, Pittsburgh Press (1970)
Blaine Wilbert Jr. Enos, age 31, from Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Parents: Eleanor Crocker Enos and Blaine W. Enos
Spouse: Engaged to Beverly George
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Derry Area High (1968)
Date of death: Saturday, January 31, 1970
Death details: Killed in South Vietnam when an aircraft he was aboard crashed after fired upon by enemy.
Source: National Archives, Ligonier Echo (1970)
James Edward Ludwig, age 22, from Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Service era: Korea
Military history: Company K, 23rd Infantry
Date of death: Saturday, September 15, 1951
Death details: Killed in action.
Cemetery: Forest Lawn, Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Source: National Archives, grave marker
George James Srogoncik from Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, July 8, 1951
Death details: On July 11, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 21st Infantry Regiment, which had arrived in Korea six days earlier, was placed in defensive positions near the town of Chochiwon, South Korea. The regiment was not at full strength and lacked artillery and anti-tank weapons. That day, they were attacked by North Korean forces and were forced to withdraw to avoid being surrounded, as well as to buy time until they could be reinforced and resupplied. Corporal George James Srogoncik joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and was a member of L Company, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured by North Korean forces during the action around Chochiwon. Following his capture, he was marched to the “Apex Camps” in the northern part of North Korea, near the Yalu River. Corporal Srogoncik died of illness at one of the Apex Camps on July 8, 1951. His remains have not been recovered or identified among those returned to U.S. custody after the conflict’s ceasefire. Today, Corporal Srogoncik is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Louis Edward Cornelia, age 21, from Westmoreland County Wyano, Pennsylvania .
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 30, 1950
Death details: By mid-November 1950, U.S. and Allied forces had advanced to within approximately sixty miles of the Yalu River, the border between North Korea and China. On November 25, approximately 300,000 Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) “volunteers” suddenly and fiercely counterattacked after crossing the Yalu. The 2nd Infantry Division, located the farthest north of units at the Chongchon River, could not halt the CCF advance and was ordered to withdraw to defensive positions at Sunchon in the South Pyongan province of North Korea. As the division pulled back from Kunu-ri toward Sunchon, it conducted an intense rearguard action while fighting to break through well-defended roadblocks set up by CCF infiltrators. The withdrawal was not complete until December 1, and the 2nd Infantry Division suffered extremely heavy casualties in the process. Sergeant Louis Edward Cornelia, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with the Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing on November 30, 1950, during his unit’s withdrawal from Kunu-ri to Sunchon. No one saw him fall, and his body was not recovered. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the armistice. Today, Sergeant Cornelia is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Pittsburgh Press (1954)
Roland Lee Bowser from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Parents: Warren S. Bowser
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Private First Class Roland Lee Bowser, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, his company was providing security for the 3rd Battalion Command Post near Unsan, when it was hit by a surprise enemy attack and overrun, and he was taken prisoner of war. After his capture, he was marched north to a prison camp at Pyoktong where he died of dysentery and untreated wounds on an unknown date, and was buried nearby. Attempts to locate his remains since the close of war were unsuccessful, and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Private First Class Bowser is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph (1953)
Robert Snead Gregory, age 31, from New Kensington, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Parents: Lillian Gregory
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant Robert Snead Gregory, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, was a member of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. By midnight on November 1, 1950, the 8th Cavalry Regiment was forced to withdraw from the Unsan area to avoid encirclement by the enemy. The 3rd Battalion was the last to withdraw, and was surrounded and cut off by the CCF. They formed a defensive perimeter, and withstood attacks for the next few days before survivors either broke out to avoid capture or surrendered. Sergeant Gregory was captured during this moving battle on November 2. He was marched to Camp 5, a prison camp near Pyoktong, North Korea, on the southern bank of the Yalu River. After the war, a returning prisoner reported that SGT Gregory died of malnutrition while interned at Camp 5; however, the exact date of his loss is unknown. His remains have not been recovered, and he could not be identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Sergeant Gregory is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
William Franklin Peters, age 19, from South Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Corporal William Franklin Peters Jr. joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and was a member of Company A of the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company A was in defensive positions with the 1st Battalion near Unsan, when it came under intense attack and was forced to withdraw. Corporal Peters went missing during the withdrawal, though specific details regarding his loss are unknown. He was never reported as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not identified among those returned to the U.S. following the war. Today, Corporal Peters is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph (1954)
John William Bobbs, age 19, from Mount Plesant, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Parents: Agnes E. Bobbs
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Thursday, November 2, 1950
Death details: During the last week of October 1950, Republic of Korea (ROK) Army forces under the control of the U.S. Eighth Army were advancing deep in North Korean territory, approaching the Yalu River on the Chinese-Korean border. Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) struck back in a surprise attack, engaging the ROK 1st and 6th Divisions near Unsan, some sixty miles north of Pyongyang. The U.S. 1st Cavalry Division, with the 8th Cavalry Regiment in the lead, was rushed forward to reinforce the ROK units in the Unsan area. On November 1, the regiment’s 1st Battalion took up positions north of Unsan, while the 2nd Battalion moved to guard the Nammyon River valley west of town, and the 3rd Battalion was placed in reserve at the valley’s southern end. Sergeant John W. Bobbs, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, was a member of Company L of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On November 2, 1950, Company L in a defensive position within the 3rd Battalion perimeter near Unsan when it was hit by a surprise enemy mortar attack and forced to withdraw back to the 3rd Battalion’s command post. Once near the command post, SGT Bobbs was among a group of troops who were attacked by enemy forces and surrounded. After two days the command post’s defensive position was overrun; Sergeant Bobbs was captured some time during this battle. Prisoners in his group were marched to the northwest towards POW Camp 5 at Pyoktong on the North Korean side of the Yalu River. Sergeant Bobbs died at Sambakkol, a POW holding point about 10 miles south of Pyoktong according to U.S. prisoners who returned from captivity in 1953. He was not identified among the remains that North Korean officials returned to U.S. custody after the ceasefire. Today, Sergeant Bobbs is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Pittsburgh Press (1950)
John Edward Warrick from Pennsylvania, Westmoreland county.
Service era: Korea
Date of death: Sunday, July 16, 1950
Death details: On the evening of July 15, 1950, the U.S. Army’s 19th Infantry Regiment held defensive positions along the south bank of the Kum River. As dusk approached, North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) tanks appeared on the opposite shore and began firing on the U.S. positions. Although U.S. troops repulsed the attacks that evening, the next morning the NKPA crossed the river and launched a major attack against the 19th Regiment. As the regiment began withdrawing south to Taejon, the North Koreans pushed deep into their defensive lines and set up a roadblock en route to Taejon. When retreating American convoys could not break through the roadblock, soldiers were forced to leave the road and attempt to make their way in small groups across the countryside. Of the 900 soldiers in the 19th Infantry when the Battle of Kum River started, only 434 made it to friendly lines. Sergeant John Edward Warrick entered the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was captured on July 16, during the Battle of Kum River, while his unit was attempting to withdraw through an enemy roadblock outside Taejon. After being marched to various holding camps in North Korea, he was eventually interned at the “Apex” prisoner of war (POW) camp at Hanjang-ni where he died of exhaustion and pneumonia sometime in late December 1950 or early January 1951. He was buried by his companions near the village. His remains have not been recovered. Today, Sergeant Warrick is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency