PFC Donald Warren Donnell

Comments: Private First Class Donnell was a member of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division. He was listed as Missing in Action while fighting the enemy in Korea on January 31, 1951. Son of Mrs. Ralph W. Garvis of Oakland, California.

The Lost Patrol. In late January, 1951, patrols from the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, were assigned to search out North Korean guerrillas operating in the area north and east of Taegu. The operations were part of the Pohang Guerrilla Hunt. On January 31, the 1st Battalion picked up six patrols, but one B Company Patrol 8 consisting of 11 men was overdue. By February 1, the 5th Marines reported that "one 11-man patrol of B Company that failed to return from a four-day reconnaissance on 31 January was still missing on this date."

Based on information obtained from civilians, the patrol was captured intact on 30 January 1951, near Jiha- Dong. "According to a civilian woman who was reported to have witnessed the patrol's capture, the Marines walked into a North Korean ambush on a trail and surrendered when trapped." The Marines and an accompanying Korean National Policeman were taken Prisoners of War and later executed. Some reports indicate the executions shortly after capture, but other reports cite February 20, 1951. Remains were found by Korean Policemen in the vicinity of Ihwa-Dong on or about March 7, 1951. A total of 26 Korean and American remains were recovered.

The unidentifed American remains were taken to the Tanggok Cemetery for identification, and were assigned X-File designations. Subsequently these remains were identified and returned to the United States for burial. From research, it appears these Marines were never identified officially as Prisoners of War.

Historical Diary - 5th Marines, February 1951

Historical Diary - 5th Marines, March 1951

Narrative extracts and X-Files from Tanggok Cemetery

Son of Ralph W. Garvis and Iva Mae Donnell Garvis of Oakland, California.