A Kentucky soldier who died in the line of duty while serving in Word War II is getting much-deserved recognition, after being recently identified.
According to Governor Andy Beshear’s Office, Private First Class 29-year-old Kenneth D. Burgess of Central City, was a servicemember assigned to Company B, 4th Ranger Battalion, “Darby’s Rangers,” in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II in September 1943. He participated in Operation Avalanche, the amphibious invasion of Italy near Salerno, and engaged in fighting near the Chiunzi Pass on the Sorrento Peninsula. On Sept. 25, Burgess was missing in action following a patrol toward the village of Sala, Italy. His body was not recovered, and German forces never reported him a prisoner of war. The War Department declared him non-recoverable on May 10, 1948.
In 1947, investigators recovered remains from a cemetery in the village of San Nicola, but were unable to identify them. They would not be considered again until 2019, when investigators reopened the case, and he was successfully identified in September of 2024.
Burgess will now be returned home—he will be buried in Central City in May of this year.
“Darby’s Rangers” were America’s first elite special operations units, initially consisting of volunteers trained by the British Commandos. Even today, these units’ exploits during WWII exemplify the standard for training and warfighting for modern U.S. Army Rangers. Pfc. Kenneth Burgess was one of those heroes and trailblazers.