Haynes, Ethyl Burton

Ethyl Haynes

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Significance:

24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division

Place of Birth:

Rutherford County, Tennessee

Date of Birth:

October 25, 1931

Place of Death:

Sangju, Korea

Date of Death:

July 30, 1950

Place of Burial:

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Cemetery Name:

Stones River National Cemetery

Ethyl Burton Haynes was born on October 25, 1931 in Rutherford County, Tennessee. He enlisted for the US Army at 17 and served as a Private First Class in the 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. The 24th Infantry Regiment was one of the all-black regiments originally created after the Civil War, though the officers were usually white, and was one of the first troops in Korea after the war started.

Haynes was killed in action on July 30, 1950, most likely during the Battle of Sangju, and was awarded a Purple Heart. He was the first soldier from Rutherford County to have died during the war. The 24th regiment was disbanded in 1951 during the Korean War.

Haynes is honored at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and is buried at Stones River National Cemetery in plot Q-6519.