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Benny Bowstring
Lilah Crowe2023-03-24T09:43:49-05:00
- Name: Benny Bowstring
- Location of Birth:
- Date of Birth: August 3, 1932
- Date of Death: May 31, 1951 (18 years old)
- Parents:
- High School and Class:
- College:
- Highest Rank: SGT (Sergeant)
- Branch: Army
- Other Branch:
- Date Sworn In:
- Place Sworn In:
- Date of Discharge:
- Place of Discharge:
-
- Military Awards:
Purple Heart Medal
Prisoner of War Medal
Combat Infantryman's Badge
Korean Service Medal
Untied States Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Presidential Unit Citation
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
- Military Highlights:
Sergeant Bowstring, who joined the United States Army from Minnesota, was a member of Company L of the 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division.
He was taken Prisoner of War while fighting the enemy in North Korea on November 27, 1950 and died while a prisoner on May 31, 1951. His remains were not recovered.
On November 27, he was captured by the Chinese Communist Forces during the withdrawal toward Sunchon. Along with others captured, he was marched to a collecting point at the Pukchin-Tarigol Valley in North Korea, and then on to Camp 5 in Pyoktong, North Korea, on the south bank of the Yalu River. Returned prisoners of war reported that Sergeant Bowstring died of malnutrition while held at Camp 5 during May, 1951, and was buried by his companions on a hill overlooking the camp. His remains have not been recovered and he could not be associated with remains returned to United States custody after the war.
Today, Sergeant Bowstring is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memoral Cemetery of the Pacific.
- Wars Involved:
Korean Conflict
- MIA / POW:
Prisoner of War
DOD (Died of Disease)
- Civilian Life:
Benny's last known home of record is Max, Minnesota.
- Tribal Affiliation(s): Native American, Leech Lake Indian Reservation Inger Village, possible Ojibwe Tribe
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