06-01-2023, 02:46 AM
The first American fatality in the Korean War was a 19-year-old from West Virginia. Private Kenneth Shadrick was killed on his first day in action. He was a member of a bazooka squad and he and his comrades had been firing on a Soviet-made T-34 tank. The tank opened fire on them with a machine gun and Shadrick was killed. He was killed as he had stood up to get a better aim of the T-34 tank. The tank crew had spotted him and opened fire on the young soldier and he was killed instantly.