Floyd Albert Stephenson

West Point, 1949

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Terry Powers on November 5, 2022:

Source: dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000143VHTEA2 2ND LT FLOYD ALBERT STEPHENSON JR. KOREAN WAR UNITED STATES AIR FORCE Unaccounted For Unit 523rd Fighter-Escort Squadron Home of Record DC Second Lieutenant Floyd Albert Stephenson joined the U.S. Air Force from Washington, D.C., and was a member of the 523rd Fighter-Escort Squadron, 27th Fighter-Escort Group. On December 13, 1950, he took off from Taegu Airbase, South Korea, piloting an F-84 Thunderjet (serial number 492335-A) as part of a strafing mission near Kirin-ni, North Korea. While making a pass over targets west of Kirin-ni, 2nd Lt Stephenson's F-84 crashed into the ground. He did not escape from the aircraft before it hit the ground, and it disintegrated on impact. Other pilots who witnessed the incident reported no signs of 2nd Lt Stephenson's survival at the crash site. His remains have not been recovered, and he was not identified among remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. Today, Second Lieutenant Stephenson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Source: www.honorstates.org/index.php?id=1605 Awarded Air Medal Purple Heart DETAILS USMA Class of 1949, Second Lieutenant Stephenson was the pilot of a F-84E Thunderjet fighter with the 523rd Fighter Escort Squadron, 27th Fighter Escort Wing. On December 13, 1950, while on a combat mission of strafing enemy positions south of Sariwon, Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire, crashed and disintegrated. His remains were not recovered. The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign was 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. The Chinese suffered 3 times that amount.

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