Hometown Heroes
Corporal William J. Briere – killed in action in Korea
By Michael Rocchetti
The outbreak of hostilities in Korea on 25 June 1950 caught the small U.S. and the South Korean ROK (Republic of Korea) forces by surprise. The North Korean People’s Army (NKPA) crossed the 38th parallel and rapidly pushed the beleaguered U.S. and ROK forces to the southeast tip of the Korean peninsula.
The U.S. Army’s 1st Cavalry Division, was hastily redeployed from Japan to Korea to shore up the defensive perimeter that U.S. and ROK forces established around the coastal port city of Pusan, South Korea. The 1st Cavalry Division, 14,000 strong, successfully held off the NKPA just north of Taegu, and then on September 16, 1950, the 1st CAV went on the offensive. Sadly during this breakout, on September 19, 1950, Corporal William J. Briere, a U.S. Army soldier from Putnam was killed in action. He was hit in the thorax and died instantly.
William J Briere (1927-1950) was born in Putnam CT on 13 Nov 1927, the son of Frank and Laura Briere. He had an older sister, Lillian, and two older brothers, Omer and Edward. He was educated at St. Mary’s School in Putnam. At the age of 17, in 1945, He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force, for three years, and served with the Army of Occupation, in Germany at the end of the war. He then reenlisted in the National Guard, and during the Korean War, was assigned as an Infantryman to “Love” Company L, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He arrived in Korea on Aug. 22, 1950, and was in continuous action against the enemy until his death on Sept. 19, 1950.
Corporal Briere was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
His body was returned to the U.S., and he was buried at the St. Mary Cemetery in Putnam.
Hometown Heroes books can be purchased online at: https://hometown-heroes-of-the-quiet-corner.myshopify.com/  - all proceeds benefit the local American Legion Post. Hometown Heroes is a series published in the Putnam Town Crier & Northeast Ledger with this mission: We owe it to our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines to make sure that they are never forgotten, and that the memory of their service and sacrifice will forever live on in the hearts and minds of the grateful people of Putnam.

.