James W. Maddox Sergeant First Class Maddox was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. In Korea, he was a member of Company M, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. On December 2, 1950, as his unit pushed south towards Hagaru-ri, North Korea, he was taken Prisoner of War, marched to Reksil Li and died on December 20, 1950 of exhaustion and pneumonia. For his leadership and valor, Sergeant First Class Maddox was awarded the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. James Woodburn Maddox was a 1938 graduate of Rockport High School. Soon after graduation he joined the Army and served in World War II. After the war James reenlisted in the army. James had now decided to make the Army his career. I am not aware of a married life for James and don't think there were any children. When World War II was over, there was a few years of peace and a tranquil Army life, but it was short-lived. North Koreans, along with the Red Chinese, were coming across the thirty-eight parallel and an invasion of South Korea was at hand. James was sent, once again, to defend freedom for us and others. From 1950 until 1953 a fierce battle would be fought between North Korean, with help from Communist China, and South Korea, with help from the United States, and other allies. A truce was observed in 1953 and Korea is still divided at the thirty-eight parallel. No formal treaty has ever been agreed upon and thus, the Army of the United States along with the South Korean Army stand guard at what is called the "DMZ" or the Demarcation Military Zone. The Korean War outcome is only considered a tie. For well over fifty years that DMZ area has been patrolled on the North by North Koreans and on the South by South Korea and the United States. I did not know Sergeant James W. Maddox, but I wish that I could have met him. A year or so before his death, we moved to East Rockport and just across the street from Mrs. Rose Maddox, the mother of James Maddox. My grandmother lived with us and she and Mrs. Rose became close and lifelong friends. Mrs. Maddox had two younger children, one a little older and the other a little younger than me. My brother and I became close and lifelong friends with these two youngsters. It was a very good day when I could cross the street and play with Betty and Kelly. I will always have very pleasant memories of playing in Mrs. Maddox's yard and probably knocking down a flower or two. One of the most unpleasant memories of my life was when I heard that their older brother had been killed in Korea. I had just turned thirteen years old and knew that we were involved in a war in Korea, but I never became very concerned until that dreadful day in December of 1950. The news of his death and the sorrow that Mrs. Maddox and her two children were facing concerned me deeply. I would have joined the Army at that instant if I could. I never knew Sergeant Maddox, but from that day forward, I sure had a lot of thoughts and dreams about him. Afterwards, when we played soldier or other similar games, I must have killed a thousands Koreans in James Maddox's memory. In the mind of a thirteen year old, a box could become an airplane, a board a tank and I stood and sat on these type objects and shot down Korean Soldiers by the thousands. In growing up, events and occurrences become etched in ones mind, whether real of imaginary or whether good or bad. Some are forgotten and others never seem to leave ones mind. A soldier that will never return, and especially a soldier that one can relate to is one of those events that will become forever etched in ones memory. May James Woodburn Maddox not have died in vain. See you....... jrd