WASHINGTON –
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Charles W. Smalley, 19, of Waterloo, Indiana, killed during World War II, was accounted for Jan. 14, 2025.
Smalley's family recently received their full briefing on his identification' therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the Summer of 1944, Smalley was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division in the European Theater. After the successful “D-Day” landings on the Normandy beaches, allied commanders implemented a plan for an invasion in southern France, code-named Operation DRAGOON. On Aug. 25, Smalley’s unit’s objective was to repel German forces from a mountain between Marsanne and the village of La Coucourde. An eyewitness reported that Smalley was killed by machine gun fire during the first ten minutes of the attack. However, the War Department listed Smalley as missing in action as of Aug. 25, 1944.
In 1946, the American Graves Registration Command, the organization that searched for and recovered fallen American personnel in the European Theater, searched the Marsanne and La Coucourde area for Smalley and others still unaccounted for from the attack. Investigators spoke with local officials but did not uncover any leads regarding the disposition of Smalley’s remains. Smalley was declared non-recoverable on April 16, 1951.
On Sept. 6, 1944, members of the 46th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company unearthed a set of unidentified remains from a secluded grave located on a wooded ridge north of Montélimar, France. The remains were taken to a temporary U.S. Military Cemetery in Montélimar where they were labeled X-46. In November 1945, X-46 was relocated to the USMC Luynes near Marseille, France, and redesignated X-205. All efforts to identify the remains were unsuccessful.
DPAA historians have been conducting on-going research focused on soldiers missing from Operation DRAGOON and the campaign in southern France. In March 2023, the Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed remains designated X-205 and transferred them to the DPAA Laboratory for forensic analysis.
To identify Smalley’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Smalley’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Rhône American Cemetery, Draguignan, France, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Smalley will be buried in Chesterton, Indiana on a date yet to be determined.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agencywww.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.
Smalley’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzQWbEAM.
Read Smalley's initial ID announcement here: Smalley.