Mississippi soldier missing since Anzio identified, returned decades later

Charles N. Milam, a Greenville native reported missing at the Battle of Anzio in 1944, was identified in 2025 and buried in a military cemetery in Newton, Mississippi, the Magnolia Tribune reported.

The Tribune said Milam, 20 when he was reported missing on Jan. 31, 1944, was presumed killed during heavy artillery fire at Anzio and was buried overseas as an unknown American soldier until modern scientific techniques allowed identification more than eight decades later.

The Magnolia Tribune contrasted Milam’s fate with that of Van T. Barfoot, a Leake County native who survived Anzio and later received the Medal of Honor. According to the Tribune, Barfoot landed at Anzio on Jan. 22, 1944, and in June 1944 at Salerno crawled through a minefield, neutralized three machine-gun positions, captured a rocket launcher, disabled a tank column, and was credited with eight kills and 17 German prisoners. The paper said Barfoot received his Medal of Honor while still serving in the European theater and later served in the Korean and Vietnam wars before his death at 92 in 2012.

The Magnolia Tribune noted that roughly 3,555 Mississippians died in World War II and that Anzio itself resulted in about 43,000 Allied casualties. The paper wrote that Memorial Day highlights those who did not return and called attention to the long-term absence of family members to mourn soldiers like Milam when they were finally identified and returned home.

The Tribune’s commentary said Memorial Day should focus on remembrance of the dead, not the glory of war, and urged residents to reflect on the thousands buried overseas and the names etched on local memorials.

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