“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
—General Douglas MacArthur
Of the seven conflicts the ETVMA chronicles and memorializes, one yet remains unresolved with no final peace treaty in place. More than 36,000 American troops were killed during the Korean War, which lasted from 1950 until 1953. The Defense Department lists 7,496 as missing in action from the conflict, including an estimated 5,200 believed to be in North Korea. Some were buried by U.S. troops in makeshift cemeteries that were abandoned after China’s entry into the war forced U.S. forces south. Others are believed to be at the sites of aircraft crashes or possibly in warehouses that the North Korean military maintains.
The total number of East Tennesseans who died or were killed in Korea (447) is relatively small compared to World War I (1,116) and World War II (4,013). The war in Vietnam was even more costly in terms of lives lost – 671. The two largest cities in the region, Chattanooga and Knoxville respectively, lost the same number – 69, while in smaller ones like Sequatchie (1) and Meigs (2) the toll was much less.
Here are the stories of two, one from Jellico in Campbell County, and the other from Sevierville whose remains have still not been recovered.
Willie Partin. https://etvma.org/veterans/willie-partin-11290/
Norman E. Flynn. https://etvma.org/veterans/norman-e-flynn-11433/
