Master Sergeant Norman L. Bannister, Jr

Master Sergeant Norman L. Bannister, Jr.

Hometown: Honolulu, Hawaii Entered Service: February 21, 1946 Unit: 24th Infantry Division, 5th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, Company K Rank: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army Cemetery: Courts of the Missing (Court 4), Honolulu Memorial National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Honolulu, Hawaii December 10, 1925 - November 28, 1950 Profile:Master Sergeant Norman L. Bannister, Jr. 1

Adapted from: Pierre Moulin, A History of Punchbowl: Arlington of the Pacific, 2010 Before the War

Hawaiian Heritage In 1925, Norman Lanui Bannister, Jr. was born at home in Wailupe, Hawaii, to Norman and Elizabeth Moniz Bannister. Norman descended from Captain Alexander Adams and native Hawaiian Charlotte Oili Harbottle Adams. Captain Adams was a friend and confidential advisor to King Kamehameha I. He commanded the king’s sandalwood fleet and is credited with helping design the current Hawaiian flag. Charlotte was a descendant of the ruling chiefs of Hawaii tied to King Kamehameha I.

Growing Up In Hawaii Bannister grew up on family land in Kalihi with his sister, Mildred, and half-siblings Robert, Carl, and Walter. He spent his youth playing football and strumming a ukulele on the the front porch with neighborhood friend Donald Gouveia. After graduating St. Anthony School in the eighth grade, Norman secured work as a storekeeper at the Pearl Harbor Navy Yard Supply Depot.

World War II Norman’s sister recalled watching Japanese planes fly directly over their home in route to bomb Pearl Harbor in 1941. Throughout World War II Bannister continued working at Pearl Harbor. The depot remained a major supply facility for the Pacific Theater. Martial law changed daily life for residents of the state with rationing of goods and set curfews.

Military Experience

Entering the U.S. Army On May 11, 1945, three days after the Germans surrendered in Europe, Bannister entered the U.S. Army. He completed basic training at Fort Ord, in Monterey Bay, California. World War II ended with the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The U.S. government downsized the military and trainees were given the option to exit the military. On February 21, 1946, Bannister chose to remain in the U.S. Army with the transportation corps. Stationed in Honolulu, he checked cargo at the port. In 1949 he re-enlisted and continued to live with his family on Kopke Street in Kalihi.

VETERANS LEGACY PROGRAM National Cemetery Administration | American Battle Monuments Commission | National History Day | Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media Profile:Master Sergeant Norman L. Bannister, Jr. 2

Transfer to the 5th Regimental Combat Team Not long after the North Koreans invaded the south, soldiers stationed throughout Hawaii were transferred to fill the ranks of the 5th Regimental Combat Team. The regiment became known as the “Hawaiian Regiment” due to the high number of locals. The men spent two weeks training at Schofield Barracks before deploying for Korea aboard the USS General W.A. Man on July 25, 1950.

Pusan Perimeter Battle Upon arrival, the 5th Regimental Combat Team moved quickly to the frontline to support the 25th Infantry Division. Given the order to “stand or die” as part of Task Force Kean, a month-long battle for the two peaks of Sobuk-san Mountain ensued. The 5th Regimental Combat Team paid a heavy price, holding their ground against human wave attacks by the North Korean troops.

In late August, Task Force Kean dissolved. The 5th Regimental Combat Team was reassigned to the 1st Cavalry Division, and then in September to the 24th Infantry Division. Over the next few months the team battled their way north across the 38th parallel.

Though the conditions were harsh and fighting was fierce, the Hawaiian men of Company K made time to have a luau in Korea, sharing laulau, poi, dried shrimps, and round onions received from home. With temperatures below freezing, troops hoped to be home by Christmas.

Offensive Operations to Secure Korean Peninsula During the last week of November 1950, the 8th U.S. Army conducted offensive operations to clear enemy forces out of the western part of the Korean peninsula. The 24th Infantry Division occupied the far flank where the Chongchon River empties into the Korea Bay. The third day of the offensive, November 26, the 24th Infantry Division’s right flank was hit hard by Chinese Communist Forces.

In response to the Chinese attack, the 5th Regimental Combat Team moved forward and secured the 24th Infantry Division’s flank against enemy infiltration through the 1st Republic of Korea (ROK) Division. As the Chinese Communist Forces Offensive exploded across the 8th U.S. Army front, plans were made for all forces to retreat south. The 5th Regimental Combat Team was ordered to cover the withdrawal of the rest of the 24th Infantry Division. Bannister’s 3rd Battalion moved to cover the withdrawal of the rest of the 5th Regimental Combat Team.

Placed at Rearguard Early in the morning of November 28, 1950, the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team was attacked by two Chinese battalions. During intense fighting, the Chinese Communist Forces broke through American lines in several places, but eventually were halted with heavy casualties. Bannister was reported missing in action. Fellow soldiers testified that Bannister died instantly from a bullet wound. Commemoration

Bannister went missing in what is today North Korea. Due to hostile relations between the United States and North Korea, the search for the missing has been limited.

The family has never given up hope that Bannister’s remains will be returned home to Hawaii someday. His niece, Winnie, provided a DNA sample to help with a possible identification. Master Sergeant Bannister is memorialized on the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

VETERANS LEGACY PROGRAM National Cemetery Administration | American Battle Monuments Commission | National History Day | Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media