| Sources |
- [S78] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume I, 1930-1954, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 9 Oct 1937.
Sarah Vivian V. Flynn obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 25 Jul 2015.
Upland Chronicles: Sevier County Korean War soldier remains missing in action
Norman Edgar "Eddie" Flynn (right) with his father, Marshall, before leaving for the Korean War.
On Feb. 1, 1950, Norman Edgar "Eddie" Flynn, eight months away from his 18th birthday, lied about his age and signed up for the Army. For basic training, he was stationed at Fort Knox, Ky.
Almost six months after Flynn joined the Army, communist North Korea launched a massive attack into South Korea, and the United States found itself once again embroiled in a major international conflict. Shortly before he turned 18, Flynn was deployed to Korea.
On Nov. 28, 1950, Pfc. Flynn's platoon, part of the 31st Infantry Regiment 7th Infantry Division, participated in a decisive battle at Chosin Reservoir, a man-made lake located in the northeast of the Korean peninsula.
Eddie Flynn was never heard from again.
"I've been traveling around so much that my mail just couldn't keep up and I've been walking all the time too," he wrote in a letter to his dad dated Nov. 16, 1950. "Trucks just barely can make it through these mountains. The roads are worse than the road that goes up the holler where Aunt Sarah lived. Most of the bridges are made of small poles and we can't get vehicles over the roads; they are more like paths than roads."
"I am almost to the lakes where one reservoir is," he wrote at the end of the same letter. "I don't know when we will go on or it might snow us in. I don't know and don't much care. Don't worry about me because I will be OK. Answer soon. Love Always, Eddie."
Earlier, Eddie had expressed a desire to possibly join the Merchant Marines, or "get me a good job and rent me an apartment and settle down."
In mid November, a cold front from Siberia descended over the Chosin Reservoir, and the temperature plunged to minus 35. The cold weather was accompanied by frozen ground, icy roads and weapon malfunctions. Medical supplies froze, and batteries for the jeeps and radios did not function properly in the temperature and quickly ran down.
Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 13, a brutal, 117-day battle took place over some of the roughest terrain during some of the harshest winter weather conditions of the Korean War. Casualties included 1,029 U.S. soldiers killed, 4,582 wounded and 4,894 listed as missing in action.
Shortly before Christmas, a uniformed Army officer delivered a paper notifying Flynn's family that he was officially missing in action. His father kept up hope that he was somehow still alive and continued to mail letters which were returned bearing a large red stamp that read "Certified Missing in Action."
A package containing the Purple Heart medal arrived May 22, 1951, with a letter explaining the medal was for "wounds received in action resulting in his death 28 November 1950." Marshall Flynn never wrote another letter to his son after that.
Much to their bewilderment, the only personal item family members received was a thin, brown plastic wallet with a small amount of Korean currency and several photographs of Korean people who were unrecognizable to them. His family was never convinced that the wallet they received belonged to Eddie, who left home with an expensive leather wallet with pictures of his dad, stepmother, brothers and sisters.
Born Oct. 28, 1932, Eddie was a son of Marshall Flynn and Stella Lane Flynn. The family lived on Allensville Road and attended Millican Grove Baptist Church, and the children went to Millican Grove School. His father worked at Stokely Canning Factory in Sevierville. Eddie's mother died Oct. 25, 1944, three days before his 12th birthday. Thereafter he lived in Knoxville with his oldest brother and sister-in-law, Gene and Joyce Flynn.
When Eddie joined the Army, he was a high school dropout with no prospects for gainful employment. Five years earlier, thousands of young men returned home after World War II to a hero's welcome and opportunities for continued education or good paying jobs. Perhaps Eddie thought joining the Army was a chance for a better life.
Without a body to bring home to bury, it was impossible for family members to have any semblance of closure. Although his father received the death gratuity from the federal government, he never fully accepted that his son was dead.
Marshall Flynn died Dec. 8, 1971, at age 67 without the questions surrounding his son's fate ever being resolved. Several decades later, relatives discovered Army records showing Norman Edgar Flynn died in a military hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. But after further investigation they were told the references to the Honolulu hospital were simply mistakes and Flynn is still considered missing in action.
Renewed relations with North Korea in the 1990s gave military officials a chance to visit the area to look for MIAs. They sifted through documents detailing where prison camps were located, where battles were fought and where military cemeteries should be. Eddie's younger brother, Fred, agreed to give blood for DNA tests, but the remains of Flynn have never been identified.
"He was my hero. Not a day passes that I don't think about him and wonder what really happened to him," said Fred Flynn, who was only 6 when his brother went missing. "I can still remember the Christmas he bought me a toy cap gun. He was just a kid himself."
The American Legion Post 104 is planning to build a pavilion on the property they recently acquired adjacent to their building on Chapman Highway, and to name it in memory of Norman Edgar Flynn, the only MIA from Sevier County.
Carroll McMahan is special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S78] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume I, 1930-1954, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 25 Oct 1944.
Stella Flynn obituary
- [S78] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume I, 1930-1954, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 14 May 1945.
Charlotte Ann Flynn obituary
- [S84] E-Mail, Bobby Wilhoite [wilhoite1@aol.com], 23 Aug 2009.
- [S112] Census, 1940.
Name Norman Flynn
Event Type Census
Event Date 1940
Event Place Civil District 15, Sevier, Tennessee, United States
Gender Male
Age 7
Marital Status Single
Race (Original) White
Race White
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Son
Relationship to Head of Household Son
Birthplace Tennessee
Birth Year (Estimated) 1933
Last Place of Residence Same House
HOUSEHOLD
ROLE
GENDER
AGE
BIRTHPLACE
Marshall Flynn Head M 36 Tennessee
Stella Flynn Wife F 37 Tennessee
Eugene Flynn Son M 16 Tennessee
Eula Mae Flynn Daughter F 13 Tennessee
Iva Ruth Flynn Daughter F 9 Tennessee
Norman Flynn Son M 7 Tennessee
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