American Battle Graves Archive
U.S. Army seal

WWII · Battle Death Record

Charles Keerans

Brigadier General, U.S. Army · North Carolina

Personnel File — Core Information

Name
Charles Keerans
Entered the Service From
North Carolina
Rank
Brigadier General
Service
U.S. Army
Unit / Regiment
82nd Airborne Division (Deputy/Assistant Commanding General)
War
WWII
Date of Death
July 11, 1943
Awards
Purple Heart
Burial / Memorial
Commemorated on the Tablets of the Missing, Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial
Grave
Tablets of the Missing

Their story

Brigadier General Charles L. Keerans Jr. was Assistant/Deputy Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division during the Allied invasion of Sicily. On the night of July 11, 1943, his C-47 was hit by Allied anti-aircraft fire during Operation Husky; he survived the crash but went missing after proceeding inland alone the next morning and was never recovered. He is the highest-ranking service member memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery.

Compiled from American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) and National Archives (NARA) records and public sources.

This record is one of more than 200,000 in our historical archive. Some information may have been corrupted or lost over decades of data conversion. Corrections are welcome — please contact the archive.