German attack in Italy 1 February 1944

Milam, Charles N.
Army Private 1st class

Charles N. Milam, age 20, from Washington County Greenville, Mississippi .

Parents: Alva Overton

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, February 1, 1944
Death details: On May 8, 2025, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified the remains of U.S. Army Pfc. Charles N. Milam, missing from World War II. Milam entered the U.S. Army from Mississippi and served as a rifleman with Company F, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. From late January through late May 1944, Milam’s 3rd Infantry Division fought in the Battle of Anzio in Italy. On Jan. 31, he was reported missing during combat against German forces near the small hamlet of Ponte Rotto, close to the town of Cisterna di Latina. Members of his squad believed that he may have been killed in action by artillery at some point that day, but his body was not recovered. Having no evidence that Milam had survived the conflict, the War Department issued a presumptive finding of death on April 19, 1945. Post-war search efforts by the American Graves Registration Service failed to recover his remains and he was declared non-recoverable in 1949. As part of a comprehensive research and recovery effort focused on American soldiers missing from ground combat in Italy, DPAA historians and scientific staff recommended exhuming for new analysis a set of remains which had been recovered in July 1944 by graves registration personnel near Ponte Rotto. At the time, the American Graves Registration Service did not have enough data to positively identify the remains, which had been interred as an Unknown at the U.S. Military Cemetery Nettuno, now Sicily-Rome American Cemetery. In September 2021, this Unknown was disinterred and transported to the DPAA laboratory for forensic analysis and further study. There, the laboratory analysis, together with the total circumstantial evidence, confirmed the remains as those of Milam.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Sun Herald (1944)

Axenty, Thelmur
Army Sergeant

Thelmur Axenty, age 25, from Los Angeles County North Redondo Beach, California .

Parents: Sam Axenty
Spouse: Mabel (Shipman)

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. Sergeant Thelmur Axenty, who joined the U.S. Army in California, was a member of the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was killed in action during the battle with German forces near Isola Bella. Attempts to locate Sgt Axenty’s remains following the incident were unsuccessful. Sergeant Axenty is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery in Impruneta, Italy.
Cemetery: Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery, Italy

Source: National Archives, American Battle Monuments Commission, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Daily Breeze (1944)

Dangelo, Melvin
Army Private 1st class

Melvin Dangelo, age 21, from Philadelphia County Philadelphia, Pennsylvania .

Parents: Josephine D’Angelo

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 Melvin D’Angelo, who joined the U.S. Army in Pennsylvania, served with Company F, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, and was lost on or around February 1 in the area of Ponte Rotto, Italy. The exact circumstances of his death are not known. Today, Private First Class D’Angelo is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery in Impruneta, Italy.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, The Tribune (1944)

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)

Stolowski, Edmund F.
Army Corporal

Edmund F. Stolowski, age 23, from Chautauqua County Forestville, New York .

Parents: Mary Stolowski

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, February 1, 1944
Death details: Finding of death

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

Thaler, Fred
Army Private

Fred Thaler from Queens County Jackson Heights, New York .

Parents: Naftali Thaler

Service era: World War II

Date of death: Tuesday, February 1, 1944
Death details: Finding of death

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, UP (1944)

Tiberio, Aldo P
Army

Aldo P Tiberio, age 20, from Allegheny County Carnegie, Pennsylvania .

Parents: Rose Tiberio

Service era: World War II
Military history: 7 Infantry 3 Division

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 Aldo P. Tiberio entered the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and served with the 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He was lost on or around February 1, 1944, when German forces attacked his unit’s position near Isola Bella, Italy, though he exact circumstances of his death are not known. He was not identified among remains returned to the U.S. after the war and he remains unaccounted-for. Today, Private Tiberio 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, Pittsburgh Post Gazette (1944)

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