Missing information?
Do you have any additional information you would like to share about a soldier?
Submit- Full
name
MCELYEA, Charles E - Date of
birth
7 April 1917 -
Age
27 - Place of
birth
Tennessee -
Hometown
Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
34987755 -
Rank
Private -
Function
unknown -
Unit
D Company,
1st Battalion,
109th Infantry Regiment,
28th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
17 December 1944 - Place of
death
Near Wiltz, Luxembourg
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Luxembourg -
Tablets of the Missing
* This soldier has been accounted for. A rosette has been placed next to his name.
Immediate family
-
Members
Robert R. McElyea (father)
Margaret M. McElyea (mother)
Raymond S. McElyea (brother)
Homer C. McElyea (brother)
Leon J. McElyea (brother)
Eleanor (Stahl) McElyea (wife)
Eddie McElyea (son)
More information
Pvt Charles E. McElyea attended Knoxville High School and was a Southern Railroad fireman.He enlisted at Camp Shelby, Mississippi on 13 April 1944.
Initially listed as Missing in Action, pvt McElyea's remains were recovered in a village of Gentingen and identified by his dog tags in 1961.
Pvt McElyea was last seen between Diekirch and Bettendorf, Luxembourg, near the River Our. His company was overrun by the enemy. The village where his grave was found was a short distance from there.
His name is permanently inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. A rosette is placed next to his name to indicate he is accounted for.
Pvt McElyea is buried at the Lynnhurst Cemetery in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1940 Census, https://etvma.org/veterans/charles-e-mcelyea-7803/, The Knoxville News-Sentinel 8 June 1961
Photo source: Peter Schouteten, www.findagrave.com - Howard A Sutherland, The Knoxville News-Sentinel - 8 June 1961