Latest full measure: More men from county killed in Korea | News, Sports, Jobs

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton The Korean War Veterans Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC

A Pennsylvania county list of men killed in the Korean War published in the National Archives was, to say the least, incomplete.

Since I published an article about the men on that list over Memorial Day weekend, I have heard from two family members who have identified two other men from the county who were killed in Korea – Ralph Sullivan and Herbert Rugar.

Sullivan was born on December 16, 1927 in Russell County, Kentucky

“Private Sullivan was a member of the 64th Medium Tank Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division,” according to the American Battle Monuments Commission. “He was killed in action against the enemy in North Korea on June 15, 1953.”

He was awarded the Korean Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Purple Heart, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, the Republic of Korea War Service Medal, and the United Nations Service Medal.

Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton. The grave of Ralph Sullivan, one of several Warren County men killed during the Korean War. He is buried in Youngsville Cemetery.

He was killed at the age of 25 and is buried in Youngsville Cemetery.

“The body of Pvt. Ralph Frank Sullivan, Jr., Youngsville, RD 1, soldier, killed in action in the Korean War June 15, 1953, arrived this morning from New York City and is to be taken to the Young Funeral Home in Youngsville,” the Warren Times Mirror reported in September.

“Relatives and friends may say goodbye at the funeral home during regular visiting hours. Funeral services will be held there Friday at 2 p.m. The Rev. Harold Lindquist, pastor of the Youngsville Evangelical United Brethren Church, will officiate. Military honors will be provided by the Halgren-Wilcox Post, American Legion, of Youngsville.”

The son of Mrs. Ralph Sullivan, Youngsville, RD 1, first enlisted in the Armed Forces on February 26, 1946, and completed several reenlistments. He served three and one-half years in Germany before returning to this country and was assigned to Fort Knox, Kentucky, as a troop instructor prior to returning overseas.

Besides his mother, he is survived by his wife, Elsie Joyce Sullivan; one daughter, Carol; four brothers and six sisters, Willis, Maynard and Gerald Sullivan; Mrs. Myrtle Darling, Mrs. Edna Caldwell and Mrs. Viola Walter, Youngsville; Clarence of Irvine; Mrs. Marietta Doty, Russell; Phyllis and Hazel at home; and several nieces and nephews.

According to koreanwar.org, Pfc. Herbert Ellwin Rugar was a member of the 27th Infantry Regiment, E Co., 2nd Battalion of the U.S. Army.

He was born in 1909 and enlisted in the Army in Spartansburg, although it appears the family lived near East Branch or Trimms Corners, the intersection of Sundback Road and Spring Creek Road in Eldred Twp.

“He was killed on July 25, 1950, fighting the enemy in South Korea,” This site explains: “He served in Africa during World War II.”

“He was born on a farm to Frank Rugar and died just days after entering Korea. He had attended school in Twin Corners.”

His military awards include the Silver Star.

The Warren Times-Mirror reported the death on August 28, 1950 with the headline “Resident of a county near Spartanburg, accident victim in Korea.”

“Pfc. Herbert E. Rugar, Route 3, Spartansburg, was killed in action in Korea on July 25, his parents were notified by telegram over the weekend.” says the report.

He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rugar. They live on Warren Road outside of Spartanburg east of Red Oak on the edge of Warren County.

No further details were given in the telegram.

Private Rugar, a World War II veteran, sailed for Japan in the first or second week of July and was apparently sent directly to the front. He was a member of the 27th Infantry Regiment and could not have been in Korea before he was killed.

During his first tour of duty, he served for more than two years in Africa and Europe before being discharged in October 1945.

He joined the Army in 1942 and was one of those who toured the United States with the Army War Show that year. In 1943, he was sent overseas with a searchlight battalion of coastal artillery. He went first to North Africa, then to Corsica, the European continent, and Germany.

The death report makes Pfc. Rugar the first man from this area to be killed in the Korean fighting.

It would be nearly two years before Rugar’s remains were returned to Warren County for burial at East Branch Cemetery.

The Titusville Herald reported on March 15, 1952, that “The body of the first soldier from Warren County and the Titusville area killed in the Korean War will arrive in San Francisco this morning aboard the Winthrop Victory, the Department of Defense announced yesterday.

“The private, Pfc. Herbert Rugar, who was killed in action on July 25, 1950, less than a month after the outbreak of the Korean Crisis.”