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738. Pensacola's November Loss 11-15-1950 Korea

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Updated: Feb 28, 2022

US Army Sergeant Willie Edward Jordan was born on May 8, 1927, in Samson, Geneva County, Alabama, the son of Lorenzo Jordan and Lillie Dupree. Little is known about his upbringing and family life in Samson, but we do know that he would resurface in Russell County, Alabama in 1947. There, a marriage license was obtained on February 1st for his upcoming union with Miss Annie Mae Holley. Miss Annie was born on January 17, 1926, the daughter of Henry Holley and Lula Belle Riley. Her parents had married in 1918 in Wallace, Santa Rosa County, Florida and set up housekeeping with Henry a laborer for a turpentine distillery. Henry was also the son of Green Berry Holley (1851-1940) and Liddie Eavens who had married in Santa Rosa County on November 1, 1890. They would eventually resettle in Pensacola.


Following their marriage, Annie and Willie moved into 1411 North 7th Avenue in Pensacola as Willie pursued his military career with the US Army. At the time they married, Willie had been stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia with Headquarters Company of the 25th Infantry Regiment, one of the racially segregated regiments still in the US military. Willie had enlisted in the Army on March 8, 1946, in Geneva County, Alabama and was sent to Ft. McClellan, Alabama for processing and orientation. He would later be transferred to Company "L", 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division.


Their life and marriage were going well until the early morning hours of June 25, 1950 when over 75,000 North Korean soldiers stormed across the 38th parallel and slammed into the surprised South Korean forces. To stem the advance of the North Koreans, Willie and his regiment were packed up and sent to the port of Pusan on July 31, 1930, the first unit of the 2nd Division to arrive. The 9th Regiment, known as the Manchus, were rushed into the defensive line where they fought in the Battle of Naktong Bulge on August 5th. Bloody and costly fighting would continue until they were able to shatter the North Koreans and breakout out of the Pusan Peninsular and head northward towards the Yalu River.


By November 1st, the regiment had closed in on the town of Sunchon after they crossed the 38th Parallel into North Korea. The regiment's commander ordered his three battalions to establish defensive positions within their assigned areas. The 1st Battalion was sent to the vicinity of Tokechon, the 2nd Battalion to Samso-ri, and Willie's 3rd Battalion held in Reserve at Sunchon. Then suddenly at 2145 hours of November 2nd, a flash message was received from 2nd Division Headquarters that a large enemy force had broken through the South Korean Army's line north of Kunu-Ri and were advancing upon the town with no opposition. The South Koreans were in full retreat along the Kunu-Ri to Sunchon Road. In response, Division Headquarters ordered the 9th Regiment to proceed in force along that road and report to the area commander for further orders.


On November 10th, the 3rd Battalion was ordered to move from their reserve position and relieve elements of the 7th South Korean Division that were located southeast of Pugwon. On November 11-12th, Willie and his battalion struck the enemy on Hill #157 north of Pugwon. There, they ran into heavy opposition before finally capturing Pugwon during the night. On November 14th, they captured Hill #157 and the high ground to the west. Willie's Company "L" was then ordered to cross the Chongchon River and occupy Hill #105 and Hill #187. The fighting here on November 15th was where Sergeant Willie Edward Jordan was killed in action. During a lull in the fighting, his body was turned over to the grave registration company and buried in the United Nations Military Cemetery. However, elsewhere it states that he is buried in the Mount Zion Cemetery in Pensacola but there is no verification of that either. Perhaps a member of his family can solve the mystery as to his final resting place so that history can properly honor his sacrifice! As for Annie Mae, there is no indication she ever remarried and was buried in 2009 in the Holy Cross Cemetery.










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