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Name: Clarence Edmond Deon Rank: Private First Class Service Number: 12371565 Service: Company A, 1st Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Division, US Army Awards: Combat Infantryman's Badge, Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation, Republic of Korea War Service Medal, Purple Heart Date of Birth: April 2, 1927 Place of Birth: Chelsey, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts Date of Enlistment: February 6, 1951 Place of Enlistment: Massachusetts Age at Enlistment: 23 Address at Enlistment: Massachusetts Date of Death: October 14, 1952 Age: 25 Cemetery: Holy Cross Cemetery, Malden, Massachusetts Clarence Edmond Deon was the son of Fredrick John Deon (1898–1961) and Nora (Arsenault) Deon (1898–1935). Clarence’s father, a carpenter, was born in Pomquet, Antigonish County, Nova Scotia. His mother was born in Egmont Bay, Prince Co., Prince Edward Island. Family recollections states Clarence was from Beech Hill. Clarence’s grandparents lived in Beech Hill, Antigonish Co. NS. Beech Hill Road in Antigonish Co. is just 15 kilometers west of Pomquet. Clarence’s father served Canada in the First World War with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in the 10th Dept Battery of the Siege Artillery (Service Number 2101103). He enlisted September 25, 1918 and served as a Gunner with the Overseas Section of his artillery unit. He was subsequently honorably discharged as medically unfit with demobilization on December 7, 1918, just less than one month after the end of WWI. Clarence had three siblings - Fredrick Deon (1925–1998), Walter Remi Deon (1929–1973), and Dorothy Lillian Deon (1931–2002). After enlistment, Clarence was inducted in the US Army and joined the 31st Infantry Regiment. The regiment adopted a polar bear as its insignia and on its coat of arms, for its service in Siberia at the end of WWI. By the summer of 1951, the front line stabilized near the war's start point along the 38th Parallel. For the next two years, a seemingly endless series of blows were exchanged across central Korea's cold, desolate hills. Names like Old Baldy, Pork Chop Hill, Triangle Hill, and OP Dale are among the war's most famous battles, all fought by the 31st Infantry. Private Clarence Edmond Deon was killed in action in North Korea at Triangle Hill, serving as a light weapons infantryman with the 31st Infantry Regiment. Clarence died on the first day of the Battle of Triangle Hill on October 14, 1952. The Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown or the Shangganling Campaign was a protracted military engagement during the Korean War. The main combatants were two United Nations infantry divisions, with additional support from the United States Air Force, against elements of the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) 15th and 12th Corps. The battle was part of UN attempts to gain control of the "Iron Triangle" and took place from October 14 – November 25, 1952. Clarence’s body was repatriated to the United States and he is interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery, in Malden, Massachusetts.

Remembering the Korean War Korean War Casualties with a Nova Scotia Connection

31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division near Triangle Hill in October 1952

Sources: Korean War Project American Battle Monuments Commission Battle of Triangle Hill