The remains of a soldier killed in World War II have been identified as Charles W. Smalley Jr., a 19-year-old from Waterloo, Indiana. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency confirmed his identification on January 14, 2025, bringing closure to a decades-long mystery.
A Long Journey to Identification
Smalley served with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division. In the summer of 1944, he was deployed to the European Theater. On August 25, 1944, during Operation DRAGOON, he and his unit were tasked with invading southern France between Marsanne and La Coucourde. Their mission: push back German forces.
Eyewitnesses reported that Smalley was killed by machine gun fire within the first ten minutes of combat. Later that day, the U.S. War Department declared him missing in action.
The Search for Smalley
Efforts to recover Smalley’s remains spanned decades.
- September 6, 1944: The 46th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company found an unidentified set of remains in a secluded grave on a wooded ridge near Montélimar, France. These remains were transferred to a temporary U.S. Military Cemetery and labeled X-46.
- November 1945: X-46 was moved to USMC Luynes near Marseille, France, and renamed X-205. Identification attempts failed.
- 1946: The American Graves Registration Command conducted further searches in Marsanne and La Coucourde but could not locate Smalley.
- April 16, 1951: The U.S. officially declared Smalley non-recoverable.
Breakthrough in Forensic Science
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency intensified its research into Operation DRAGOON’s missing soldiers. In March 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense and American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed X-205 and transferred it to the DPAA Laboratory.
Scientists identified Smalley’s remains through:
- Dental analysis
- Mitochondrial DNA testing
- Anthropological examination
His name, previously engraved on the Walls of the Missing at Rhône American Cemetery in Draguignan, France, now bears a rosette, signifying that he has been accounted for.
A Final Resting Place
Smalley’s burial will take place in Chesterton, Indiana, though the date has yet to be determined. His family, long deprived of answers, now has the opportunity to honor his sacrifice properly.
