Individual Details
Charles Woodrow Shepherd
(24 Feb 1920 - 24 Jul 1943)
On the 1930 Census of North East, Cecil Co., Maryland, Charles is with his mother and siblings.
Newspaper clipping provided by Don Hays states,"The Late Charles W. Shepherd, Sgt. U. S. Army. The following letter was received by Mrs. Lucile Shepherd on September 18th regarding the death of her son, Sgt. Charles W. Shepherd, who died as the result of wounds received in action. Office of the Quartermaster General, Washington D.C, 16 September 1946: Mrs. Lucille Shepherd, North East, Maryland, Dear Mrs. Shepherd, The War Department is most desirous that you be furnished information regarding the burial location of your son the late Charles W. Shepherd, U. S. Army. The records of this office disclose that his remains are interred in the U. S. Military Cemetery, Mount Soprano, Paestum, Italy, plot E. Row 3, grave 49. You may be assured that the identification and interment have been accomplished with fitting dignity and solemnity. This cemetery is located approximately twenty-two miles southeast of Salerno, Italy and is under the constant care and supervision of United States Military personnel . Please accept my sincere sympathy in your great loss. Sincerely yours, (signed) T. B. Larkin, Major General, The quartermaster [paper torn off].
From the Cecil County, Maryland World War II Casualty List of Army and Army Air Force, on-line electronic listing from National Archives and Records Administration: Shepherd, Charles W., Serial Number 20341750, rank Sgt., FOD [finding of death].
Newspaper clipping from The Historical Society of Cecil County: Sgt. C. W. Shepherd to be Buried Sun. North East Hero, Killed in Sicily, Returned for Reburial Here. The funeral of Sergeant Charles W. Shepherd, 23, who died from shrapnel wounds in Sicily, July 24, 1943, will take place on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. Services will be held in the Methodist Church at North East with the Rev. Dr. Charles S. Clarkson, pastor, in charge, assisted by the Rev. H. G. Holdway, a former pastor, now at Eastlake Methodist Church in Wilmington. Interment will be in the Methodist Cemetery with a military rite performed by members of Cecil Post No. 15, American Legion, and the Elkton and North East Posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Sgt. Shepherd, a son of Mrs. Lucile Shepherd of North East, was taken a prisoner by Germans during the invasion of Sicily. Later he was being transferred to another place with other prisoners and while passing an airport being bombed by American planes, was wounded, and died a few days later. He was reported missing and it was not until the close of the war that his family learned of his fate. A graduate of the North East High School, Sgt. Shepherd entered the service Feb. 3, 1941, and was sent overseas May, 1943. Other survivors are three brothers, R. E. Shepherd of Chicago; Roy Clyde of Charlestown; James E. of North East, and two sisters, Mrs. H. H. Biddle of Cleveland, Ohio, and Miss Virginia A. Shepherd, at home.
Inscription: Cannon Co. 180th Inf., 45th Regiment.
Newspaper clipping provided by Don Hays states,"The Late Charles W. Shepherd, Sgt. U. S. Army. The following letter was received by Mrs. Lucile Shepherd on September 18th regarding the death of her son, Sgt. Charles W. Shepherd, who died as the result of wounds received in action. Office of the Quartermaster General, Washington D.C, 16 September 1946: Mrs. Lucille Shepherd, North East, Maryland, Dear Mrs. Shepherd, The War Department is most desirous that you be furnished information regarding the burial location of your son the late Charles W. Shepherd, U. S. Army. The records of this office disclose that his remains are interred in the U. S. Military Cemetery, Mount Soprano, Paestum, Italy, plot E. Row 3, grave 49. You may be assured that the identification and interment have been accomplished with fitting dignity and solemnity. This cemetery is located approximately twenty-two miles southeast of Salerno, Italy and is under the constant care and supervision of United States Military personnel . Please accept my sincere sympathy in your great loss. Sincerely yours, (signed) T. B. Larkin, Major General, The quartermaster [paper torn off].
From the Cecil County, Maryland World War II Casualty List of Army and Army Air Force, on-line electronic listing from National Archives and Records Administration: Shepherd, Charles W., Serial Number 20341750, rank Sgt., FOD [finding of death].
Newspaper clipping from The Historical Society of Cecil County: Sgt. C. W. Shepherd to be Buried Sun. North East Hero, Killed in Sicily, Returned for Reburial Here. The funeral of Sergeant Charles W. Shepherd, 23, who died from shrapnel wounds in Sicily, July 24, 1943, will take place on Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock. Services will be held in the Methodist Church at North East with the Rev. Dr. Charles S. Clarkson, pastor, in charge, assisted by the Rev. H. G. Holdway, a former pastor, now at Eastlake Methodist Church in Wilmington. Interment will be in the Methodist Cemetery with a military rite performed by members of Cecil Post No. 15, American Legion, and the Elkton and North East Posts of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Sgt. Shepherd, a son of Mrs. Lucile Shepherd of North East, was taken a prisoner by Germans during the invasion of Sicily. Later he was being transferred to another place with other prisoners and while passing an airport being bombed by American planes, was wounded, and died a few days later. He was reported missing and it was not until the close of the war that his family learned of his fate. A graduate of the North East High School, Sgt. Shepherd entered the service Feb. 3, 1941, and was sent overseas May, 1943. Other survivors are three brothers, R. E. Shepherd of Chicago; Roy Clyde of Charlestown; James E. of North East, and two sisters, Mrs. H. H. Biddle of Cleveland, Ohio, and Miss Virginia A. Shepherd, at home.
Inscription: Cannon Co. 180th Inf., 45th Regiment.
Events
| Birth | 24 Feb 1920 | E. Carnegie, Allegheny Co., Pennsylvania |  | ||
| Death | 24 Jul 1943 | Sicily, Italy during World War II | |||
| Burial | North East United Methodist Cemetery, North East, Cecil Co., Maryland | ||||
| Research Notes |  |
Families
| Father | William Floyd Shepherd (1882 - 1956) |
| Mother | Sarah "Lucile" Hays (1885 - 1967) |
| Sibling | Sarah Vesta Shepherd (1902 - 1903) |
| Sibling | Richard Earl Shepherd (1904 - 1967) |
| Sibling | Roy Clyde Shepherd (1906 - 1962) |
| Sibling | Georgia May Shepherd (1908 - 2001) |
| Sibling | Virginia Alice Shepherd (1911 - 1986) |
| Sibling | William " Bruce" Shepherd (1913 - 1938) |
| Sibling | James Edward Shepherd (1916 - 2000) |
Notes
Research Notes
Charles' fiance was Virginia Armour.Endnotes
1. Pedigree chart by Georgia Shepherd Biddle.