

Albert (Buddy) Earle Mills was born on July 17, 1930 in Dallas, Texas . He was the only son of J. Herman and Olga K. Mills. He had 4 sisters, Ora, Esther, Ramona, and Mary. Buddy graduated from Crozier Tech High School in Dallas, Texas. He also was a member of the Dallas First Assembly of God church.
Buddy was described as a bright eyed, sweet you man, a real jokester. He joined the Army in 1948 after graduation. In July of 1950, he was a member of Company F. 2nd Battalion 5th Calvary Regiment 1st Calvary Division, blocking the Korean People’s Army from advancing along a corridor linking the cities of Taejon and Taegu, South Korea.
On July 23, 1950, enemy forces attacked American defenses at Yongdong. Mills was reported missing in action on July 25, 1950, as a result of the fighting, when he could not be accounted for in his unit. He was reported as MIA and subsequently KIA when only 26 soldiers returned from the intense battle. He was 20 years old. He was posthumously promoted to Corporal and awarded the Purple Heart and other medals.
His body alongside another soldier’s, was buried on a hillside by the local people. The Army recovered his unidentifiable remains in 1951 and he was ultimately buried as an “unknown soldier” in Hawaii’s National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. It was only due to another soldier’s family that his remains were tested and identified in July 2018. After seven decades. Corporal Albert “Buddy” Mills was finally coming home. Mills’ parents and siblings never stopped hoping for the best.
After being told in 1953, that he was presumed Killed in Action the family barely spoke of it afterward, grieving in silence. After the discovery that the body was actually that of Mills, the family would finally close a chapter in his family’s story. His many surviving nieces and nephews have taken great comfort in knowing that “Uncle Buddy” was waiting in Heaven to greet his parents and siblings over the years.

Honor and Remember Nebraska Chapter is pleased to present this flag sponsored by Jim and Cindy Meier to the family of Corporal Albert “Buddy” Earle Mills.