VFW Post 10038
POW/MIA Eternal Watch
Honoring the Memory
of
Harold E. Drown
Private First Class, US Army
of
Sutton, Vermont
Declared Deceased while MIA
July 20, 1950
On July 20, 1950, the 3rd Battalion of the U.S. 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, was holding a defensive line in South Korea overlooking the Taejon Airport, northeast of the city. When enemy tanks broke through the line near the airport, U.S. troops were ordered to fall back through Taejon. The 3rd Battalion was ordered to lead the convoy out of Taejon, but ran into a series of collapsed structures and roadblocks that broke up the column. U.S. forces were unable to break through these roadblocks, and to avoid capture soldiers moved off-road and began filtering through the countryside in small groups.
Corporal Harold Edwin Drown entered the U.S. Army from Vermont and was a member of Headquarters Company, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was serving as a perimeter guard for his company near Taejon on the morning of July 20, when the area came under enemy attack. Corporal Drown was wounded by tank fire during the fighting and was later reported missing in action. His remains have not been identified among those returned to U.S. custody following the ceasefire, and he is still unaccounted-for. Today, Corporal Drown is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Marvin G Hamelin
PVT, First Class, US Army
of
North Troy, Orleans County, Vermont
November 27, 1950
Marvin G Hamelin enlisted in the United States Army and served during the Korean War. Hamelin held the rank of Private First Class at the time he went Missing in Action. His military occupation or
specialty was Low Speed Radio Operator, his Service Number assignment was
11159245. PVT Hamelin was attached to 229th Signal Operations Company. PVT Hamelin hailed from Orleans County, Vermont according to archival records.
Death of a Vermont Comrade
PVT Hamelin served in combat action against Communist Chinese and North Korean Focres at The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir
Campaign, a decisive battle in the Korean War. On 27 November, the
Chinese Army surprised UN Forces at the Chosin Reservoir area. A brutal
17-day battle in freezing weather and rough terrain soon followed. In
the period between 27 November and 13 December 1950, 30,000 United
Nations troops were encircled and attacked by approximately 120,000
Chinese troops. The cold weather was accompanied by frozen
ground, resulting in frostbite casualties, icy roads, and weapon
malfunctions. In the end over 17,000 UN forces were killed or wounded or
missing in action, or died of wounds. Communist Chinese losses were three times that amount. PVT Hamelin was reported as MIA after the bloody battle.
Private Marvin G Hamelin, United States Army of Orleans Country Vermont is memorialized at Courts of the Missing at
the Honolulu Memorial. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission
location. Marvin is remembered at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington.
This is a National Parks Service and American Battle Monuments
Commission location.
MIA Update
The
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced two burial updates and one
new identification for service members who have been missing and
unaccounted-for from World War II. Returning home for burial with full
military honors are:
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Laverne A. Nigg, 23,
of Browns Valley, Minnesota, was assigned to the battleship USS
Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship
was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma
sustained multiple torpedo hits that caused it to quickly capsize. The
attack on the ship resulted in the deaths of 429 crewmen, including
Nigg. He will be buried on June 4, 2022, in his hometown. Read about Nigg.
Army Air Force Lt. Col Addison Baker, 36, of
Chicago, was commander of the 328th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd
bombardment Group, 9th Air Force. On Aug. 1, 1943, the B-24 Liberator
aircraft Baker was piloting crashed as a result of anti-aircraft fire
during Operation Tidal Wave. Following the war, his remains could not be
identified. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The date
and location of his funeral have yet to be decided. Read about Baker.
Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. William F. Teaff, 26, was
assigned to the 351st Bombardment Squadron, 100th Bombardment Group,
8th Air Force. On March 6, 1944, he was serving as a radio operator on a
B-17 Flying Fortress when it was destroyed during a bombing mission.
The entire crew, except for the navigator, survived and bailed out, but
were captured by the Germans and sent to POW camps. Teaff died on July
10, 1944, in a nearby village while receiving medical treatment for
diphtheria. Interment services are pending. Read about Teaff.
