Data Sources - Air Force Manual No. 200-25A, Department of the Air Force, Washington, October 16, 1961 page 1. Sanitized copy. National Archives KOREAN Conflict Casualty File (KCCF) 1950-1954.
03/92 -- Korea, and the men yet to be accounted for -- the "official list" -- is a list of U.S. servicemen known to have been
held as prisoners of war by the red Chinese and North Koreans from the Korean War
but not released or accounted for by the communists, as released on May 27,
1957 at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Far East and Pacific by the Department
of Defense.
The lists, the printed minutes of the May 27, 1957 hearing and the
"sense of congress" resolution were subsequently buried in the
archives. The original list had 450 names compiled from American POWS who were
repatriated by the Reds, as well as from photographs released by the Reds, Chinese
radio propaganda broadcasts, and letters written home by captured men. The "revised" list was narrowed down in august of 1961 to 389 men, and
all were arbitrarily declared dead by the military services, the USG still
lists them as "unaccounted for".
Names and ranks only were released at the time, and printed in "The
Spotlight" on August 27, 1979, along with the above information and background.
Further information has been compiled by the P.O.W. Network from the Hawaii POW/MIA
Korean Memorial records, National Archives documentation, and public United
States Air Force documentation, and changes made to the original published
information. (FEBRUARY 1992)
Warren O'Brien is listed on the "HONOR ROLL OF FORGOTTEN AMERICANS" yet is noted as having died "while missing" by the National Archive.
03/13/2021
- KOREAN WAR
- UNITED STATES AIR FORCE
- Unaccounted For
Captain Warren Edward O’Brien, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New Jersey, was assigned to the 9th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 49th Fighter-Bomber Group. In the late morning September 9, 1952, Capt O'Brien departed Taegu Air Base flying an F-84E Thunderjet (tail number 51-687A / call sign Dignity White 3) as the number four pilot in a flight of four. The briefed mission was a daylight interdiction operation targeting North Korean Officer Cadets’ School (OCS) near Suwon-ni in the Chonma Mountains. After completing their strike on the OCS, Dignity White flight, heading to the west coast, was attacked by a flight of MiG-15s. During this engagement, Capt O’Brien's Thunderjet received several hits in the right wing and his aircraft was severely damaged. Witnesses reported seeing a tip disengage and the canopy jettison before losing sight of his aircraft. Capt O'Brien was not seen to eject from his F-84E. Pilots from another flight observed a parachute similar to Capt O'Brien's fully inflated which landed near Sanae-ri. No returning POWs mentioned contact with Capt O'Brien, nor was he seen at any known holding point, interrogation center, hospital, or permanent POW camp. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Captain O’Brien is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Deferred.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.