Memorial marker for Sfc Otis W. Loomis in Section G, Lot 20 of the Mumford Rural Cemetery, Mumford (Monroe county), New York.

Otis enlisted at Lawson Field, Fort Benning, GA on 19 January 1939 and served with Company "I", 508th PIR during WWII.

Pvt Loomis was wounded in action in Holland on 18 September 1944 but was able to rejoin the company a month later.  He was awarded the Purple Heart and also the Bronze Service Arrowhead for the Holland campaign and Airborne operations.

He remained in the service and was a member of Company C, 1st Bn, 19th Infantry  Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.  The 24th ID was the first to be put into combat in Korea. 

On 17 July 1950, only a month after the conflict began, Sfc Loomis was listed as Missing In Action. 

Sfc Loomis was later reported to have survived what became known as the "Tiger Death March", so labeled due to a North Korean officer nicknamed "The Tiger" by the U.S. prisoners who were forced into a brutal, nine-day trek that claimed nearly 100 American lives.

Loomis was reported by at least 5 recovered POWs to have been held captive in Camp T-12, Chongo-ri*, North Korea.  He died while a prisoner and his remains were never recovered.

Sfc Loomis' name is inscribed on the walls of the missing in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, HI.

His Korean era awards include the Bronze Star Medal and the OLC to the Purple Heart.

*(also spelled Jungeori, Jongori or Jeonger-ri)