WWII Darby’s Ranger ID’ed

Darby’s Rangers are considered the WWII predecessors to the current U.S. Army Rangers today. Commanded by William O. Darby (who was KIA at age 34) his Rangers were trained up in Northern Ireland by British Commandos. Many of his new Rangers came from his unit, the 34th Infantry.

Today we remember 23 year old PFC William Bryant, lost in Italy on  23 September 1943. He had landed with the Rangers in Operation Avalanche between 9 and 18 September 1943, but was reported lost in action on the 23rd.

Bryant was one of 170,000 Allied servicemen who f6participated (sic)  in Operation AVALANCHE, when forces invaded Italy in a series of amphibious landings between Sept. 9 and Sept. 18, 1943. After making his way ashore, Bryant engaged in fighting near the Chiunzi Pass on the Sorrento Peninsula, the DPAA said. On Sept. 23, he was reported missing in action after encountering a four-man patrol near Pietre, Italy.

Bryant’s body was not recovered, and German forces never reported him as a prisoner of war, the DPAA said. The War Department declared him non-recoverable on July 19, 1949. A formal telegram informed his parents he was killed in action, according to a local newspaper clipping shared by the DPAA. He was survived by his parents, five brothers and his wife, according to the clipping. He was awarded a posthumous Purple Heart, according to another news clipping. Bryant’s name was recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.

Hard when you lose someone, even harder when their loss is not accompanied by a body. The closure a funeral brings is just not available, and there is always that hope that someone erred and your loved one is still somehow surviving somewhere.

After World War II, the American Graves Registration began working to recover missing American personnel from around the world. In 1947, investigators from the registration found remains in a cemetery in the Italian village of San Nicola. The remains were designated as X-152 Naples, and since the remains could not be associated with nearby casualties, they were interred under that name at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery.

In 2019, a DPAA historian studying American losses during Operation AVALANCHE compiled multiple records that showed Bryant was likely lost near where the X-152 remains had been discovered. In 2022, the remains were disinterred and sent to the DPAA laboratory for identification.

Scientists with the DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis to study the remains. Mitochondrial DNA analysis and circumstantial evidence were also used to confirm the remains as Bryant’s. Descendants of World War II Rangers Inc., Associazione Salerno 1943, and the staff of the National Archives at College Park also provided “research assistance,” the DPAA said.

Bryant’s surviving family members were informed of his identification. A rosette will be placed next to his name on the Walls of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery to indicate that he has been accounted for, the DPAA said, and he will be buried in April 2025.

Welcome home, Private.

Category: We Remember, WWII