WW II Washburn, ND Army Pvt, 1st Class Charles R. Reiser
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency says U.S. Army Pvt. 1st Class Charles R. Reiser, 20, of Washburn, North Dakota, killed during World War II, was accounted for June 25, 2024.
Reiser was a member of Company D, 708th Amphibious Tank Battalion. He was killed June 15th in June of 1944 during Operation Forager on the island of Saipan, in the Northern Mariana Islands. Marines ashore on the island were under constant assault from Japanese mortars, which caused heavy casualties and impeded American movements. The exact cause of Reiser’s death is unknown, but it is believed his unit was providing armor support to the Marines’ initial landing on the beaches. Reiser’s remains were not known to have been accounted for during or after the war. The War Department declared him non-recoverable in June 1949.
The American Graves Registration Service searched for and disinterred remains throughout the Pacific theater to identify fallen service members after the end of the war. Remains identified as Unknown X-57 were first reported as buried in the 4th Marine Division Cemetery on Saipan. However, they were not able to identify X-57, and the remains were buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines in 1950.
After thorough research, DPAA historians concluded that X-57 was possibly associated with Reiser. In December 2022, Unknown X-57 was disinterred and sent to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis.
To identify Reiser’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis and dental and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis.
Reiser’s name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Reiser will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, on a date to be determined.
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