Harper, Charlie E.
Army Private 1st class

Charlie E. Harper, age 24, from Forsyth County North Carolina.

Parents: Grace V. Harper

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, February 1, 1944
Death details: During World War II, the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division served as part of the Allied effort to eliminate the German military presence in Italy. On February 1, 1944, elements of the 3rd Division were serving near the village of Isola Bella, Italy. That afternoon, a company-sized German force attacked the U.S. position. The 3rd Division troops, along with tank support, were able to hold their ground and eventually repel the German attack, but not without suffering casualties. Private First Class Charles Elfred Harper, who entered the U.S. Army from North Carolina, served with Company A, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on February 2, 1944, after German troops attacked the 15th Infantry Regiment in the vicinity of Isola Bella. PFC Harper’s fellow unit members did not see him fall, and although they searched for him after the attack, they did not find his body. He does not appear in German records as a prisoner of war. After hostilities ended, American Graves Registration personnel conducted extensive searches of the Anzio area but were unable to associate any of the remains they recovered to PFC Harper. Today, Private First Class Harper is memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, News and Observer (1944)