Saskatchewan-born soldier killed during ambush in Korean War

Saskatchewan boy William J. Horning was born on a farm in the Tompkins area west of Moose Jaw and later moved to the United States, where he served with the army and later died fighting in the Korean War.

Horning was born on Feb. 16, 1927 on a farm south of Tompkins. Not much is known about his family, which was originally from Michigan and homesteaded in the Stone District south of Tompkins. One headstone in the Piapot Cemetery reads: Albert William Horning, father, 1895 to 1935, and also includes son Cecil Earl Horning, 1931 to 2011.

Albert is said to have died when William was eight years old.

The family later moved to William, Idaho. This is where Horning enlisted in 1950 and was later attached as a corporal to A Company, 76th Engineer Construction Battalion, United States Army. The 76th Engineer Construction Battalion arrived in South Korea in July 1950 and immediately began building military infrastructure such as roads and housing. The battalion’s motto was, “To work is to conquer.” Horning was killed in action on Jan. 16, 1951 when North Korean troops ambushed him and his group from A Company while they were loading a dump truck in a riverbed near Chinan, South Korea. He was just 23 at the time of his death. Nine men were killed during the ambush. The bodies of all nine were sent back to their home communities. Those who died include: Pte. William David Bennett, Volusia, Florida, Pte. 1st Class Richard D. Brothers, Loogootee, Indiana, Pte. 1st Class Roland Edmund Christian, East Jaffrey, New Hampshire, Cpl. Charles Edward Gardner, Gloster, Miss., Cpl. Gerald Francis Merrill, Mikana, Wisconsin, Pte. F. D. Parker, Carbon Hill, Alabama, Pte. 1st Class Marvin E. Stoy, Lancaster, Penn., and Pte. Roger Michael Tansey, Norfolk, Virginia.

Horning’s body was sent back to his home community near Tompkins. He is buried in the Piapot Village Cemetery along with family members.

The community is located east of Maple Creek and south of Highway 1 in the Rural Municpality of Piapot No. 110.

Cpl. William J. Horning grew up on a farm near Tompkins, Sask., west of Moose Jaw and later fought in the Korean War with the U.S. Army. He was killed in an ambush along with nine other men. He is buried in the Piapot Village Cemetery. Photo submitted