Sgt. James Franklin Richardson was born on August 25, 1930 in Knoxville, TN, the fifth of eight children of Willie Richardson (1896-1974) and Liza Ann "Eliza" Heatherly (1899-2005). The Richardson family lived in the small Santa Rosa community of Harold where his father supported his family as a farmer. By 1945, his father had taken a job as a chauffeur along with his son Earnest.
James was too young for the military in WWII, but he enlisted in the US Army on October 1, 1947 and was assigned to Company "I" of the 31st Infantry Regiment with the 7th Infantry Division. James joined his regiment in Korea where they were used to patrol along the 38th parallel against North Korean guerrillas. In 1948, the entire division was sent to the Japanese island of Hokkaido for reconditioning purposes. However, upon the invasion by North Korean forces on June 25, 1950, many of the Division’s veterans’ soldiers were reassigned to other units along the Pusan perimeter. As a result, they were sent over 8,000 untrained South Korean recruits for replacements. The division left Japan on September 11th, where James and his regiment were deployed for the famous amphibious landing at Inchon on the 16th of September. This maneuver severed the North Korean supply line forcing them to eventually withdraw to the north. In November, James made his second amphibious landing at Iwon on November 3rd not far from the Russian city of Vladivostok. This strategy was to put UN troops behind the retreating enemy forces forcing a capitulation. But, to rescue their Communist allies, China committed over 120,000 troops that unbeknownst crossed the Yalu River on the night of November 27, 1950. There, they encircled and attacked the US Army and Marine forces in the area around the Chosin Reservoir.
To break out of the trap and avoid antihalation, UN commanders chose for the 1st Marine Division to escape by the only available road south on the west side of the reservoir while the Army would do the same on the east side. Both columns fought against overwhelming and desperate odds beginning on the 27th of November. Several hundred 31st Infantry survivors were even able to fight their way across the frozen reservoir and join up with the Marines on the night of the 1st of December. From there. they marched, fought, and died with the Marines in minus 36-degree temperatures. Nights brought enemy attacks screaming by banshees out of the hills and the days brought the same. The survivors walked like dead men from exhaustion, hunger, and shell shock! Finally, the lead elements of the column began to arrive at Hungnam on the 1st of December 1950. But in one of these attacks, whether he was with the east side or west side group, James' unit was overrun, and he was captured. Sadly, as he was marched off into captivity, the rest of the column marched on.
Given the location of his capture, it is most likely that he was marched to one of the holding villages at Pukchin-Tarigol, Valley #1, or Kanggye. At some point, his group was force marched north for long periods without rest, in freezing temperatures, and with no food or water. At times they were stripped of all coats, scarves, and hats and shoved into outside animal pens at -30 degrees. Eventually, the POW's arrived at one of the newly built Chinese camps on the south bank of the Yalu River. James would have been sent to Camp #5 that had been opened in January 1951, the first of many to follow. On or about February 3, 1951, James died at the hands of his Chinese captors. Whether executed, starved, or perished from medical neglect will probably never be known. Regardless, he died a warrior who gallantly fought for his country and will always be remembered as such. His remains were disinterred and transported home per the request of his family where they were buried in May 1955 in First Church of Harold cemetery. There, he rests among his loved one finally at peace!
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