PFC Howard D. Estell - 1,013 Days as a POW

 With a blue star service flag proudly displayed in the window, Mrs. James Estell hangs a Christmas wreath below. It’s been 412 days since her son PFC Howard Estell has been held captive in a POW camp in North Korea. Little did she know it was only the beginning of her plight. Original Press Photo from the Hutson Collection. 

 PFC Howard D. Estell was serving in L Company, 8thCalvary Regiment, 3rd Battalion, 1st Cav as a Light Weapons Infantryman. On the night of November 2nd, 1950, his unit would be engaged in the fight of their lives near the small village of Unsan, North Korea.  

  Bugles and whistles pierced the chilly night air and they immediately knew the enemy was attacking their positions.  They soon found themselves in close-in fighting with the Red Chinese CCF (Chinese Communist Forces) and by dawn of November 2nd, the Chinese had surrounded and trapped his Battalion.  

 With orders from Headquarters to try and withdrawal, 3rd Battalion reviewed their options and decided they had no good alternative but to stand and fight. As night fell, the remaining men faced a full division of CCF. With a heavy barrage of mortar fire, the enemy began a mass attack.  

 Although the 3rd Battalion held their ground, almost all their ammunition was used up in the fighting. During a lull in the battle, men crawled out of their position and retrieved weapons and ammunition from the 1000 plus dead enemy soldiers that were killed just outside the perimeter.  

 On the next night of November 3rd, the CCF again repeated the attack on the men of the 3rd Battalion but were driven back. Expelling almost all their ammunition once again, they replenished their stock from the enemy dead.