Stephen T. Uurtamo
Major, U.S. Army

Stephen Teppo Uurtamo enlisted in the U.S. Army prior to 1940, and served as a Corporal with the 2nd Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division at Fort Sheridan, IL. After completing Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry and served in Germany with the 45th Infantry Division in the European Theater of Operations.

In September 1950, then-Captain Stephen Teppo Uurtamo was quoted in a widely-published newspaper article about his units search for a Communist guerilla leader in the hills of Korea.

In November 1950, CPT Uurtamo was serving with Headquarters Battery, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery (Automatic Weapons) Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division in North Korea. CPT Uurtamo’s unit was in action against the Chinese People's Volunteer Forces near Kunu-ri, North Korea. On 30 November the 2nd Infantry Division began withdrawing and, on 1 December, CPT Uurtamo was reported as Missing in Action. It was later reported by returning Prisoners of War that CPT Uurtamo had been captured as a Prisoner of War and died at a POW Transit camp on 21 January 1951. His remains were not recovered at that time.

Uurtamo received a posthumous promotion to the rank of Major.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Bronze Star Medal (Merit) with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Purple Heart with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Prisoner of War Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Pin, Silver and 3 Bronze Stars
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Korean Service Medal
Croix de Guerre with Palm (France)
United Nations Service Medal
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Combat Infantryman Badge (WWII)

Recovery of Remains

Through the work of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, the remains of Major Stephen T. Uurtamo were accounted for in September 2017. The remains were repatriated in 2018.

Major Stephen T. Uurtamo's name is permanently inscribed on Court 8 of the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Honolulu County, HI. Now that his remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Court of the Missing to mark that he now rests in a known gravesite.

Burial

Major Stephen Teppo Uurtamo is buried at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Arlington County, VA.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/190312001/stephen-teppo-uurtamo