Background
Dale Warren Ross was born on June 30, 1920 in North Dakota in the United States to parents William H. Ross and Mabel Viola Ross (née Warren). He was the third of four children: Charles Irvin Ross born in 1915, Clifford Elmer Ross "Cliff" born 1918, Dale W. Ross born 1920 and
Calvin A. Ross born 1923. The family moved to Ashland a town in
Jackson County in southern Oregon and lived at 78 Mountain Avenue. He graduated Ashland High School class of 1939 and was a cross country runner, worked on a farm and had a steady girlfriend Betty Dawson.
Wartime History
During World War II, all four Ross brothers served in the military. Charles and Calvin joined the U. S. Navy. Clifford and Dale joined the U. S. Army. On April 9, 1942 Dale W. Ross enlisted in the U. S. Army as a private with serial number 39307184. After recruit training in Monterey, California he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division "Tropic Lighting", 35th Infantry Regiment "Cacti", Company E at Scholfield Barrack on Oahu. In late 1942 deployed to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and participated in the Battle of Mount Austen.
Missing In Action (MIA)
On January 14, 1943 while advancing along the west slope of Hill 27 south of The Gifu near Mount Austen, Pfc was reported as Killed In Action (KIA). He was not seen after an engagement with a small Japanese patrol when shots were heard in the vicinity in which he was last seen. He was officially listed as Missing In Action (MIA).
On March 1, 1943 his mother, Mabel V. Ross received a War Department telegram that reported her son as "missing in action on Guadalcanal". On November 3, 1943 she wrote the adjutant General in Washington DC stating that she had received no further information about her son and requested his personal effects, then again on September 15, 1944. It is unclear if anything was ever returned to the family.
Search
After the fatal engagement, a prolonged search was made for Private Ross, but no trace of him was found. Postwar, his MIA case was numbered AGRS-PAZ Case No. 7-1687. On February 9, 1949 a team from American Graves Registration Service (AGRS) Search and Recovery Expedition #2 (S&R Expedition #2) visited Honiara and sought the help of U.K. Commissioner of Labor Mr. Mitten who furnished the team with a guide named Totiole who took them to Mount Austen where they engaged Solomon Islander chief Baranba unsuccessfully searched "Mt. Austen down to the Matanikau River, but no identifying equipment or remains could be found in the entire area on the western slope." Unable to find any trace of Ross, AGRS recommended his case be closed on May 4, 1949. To this day, Ross remains listed as Missing In Action (MIA).
Recovery of Dog Tags and Possible Remains
In March 2017, while walking along a jungle trail from a waterfall back to Barana, ten year old William "Willie" Bessi Devis located a pair of dog tags and a King Kamehameha pressed penny on a chain and bone fragments on the western side of Hill 27 and brought them to his father, Henry Devis. Together, father and son returned to the site and his father collected human bone fragments into a plastic bag for safe keeping.
A photograph of the dog tag pair and charm was placed on Facebook in an attempt to locate the relatives and reported to Donna Esposito who was visiting Guadalcanal. Afterwards, Esposito located the relatives of Dale W. Ross and reported the dog tags to Pacific Wrecks. During July 2017, namesake and nephew Dale W. Ross reported the discovery to his U. S. Army casualty officer twice, but did not receive any instructions or call back. Previously, Dale W. Ross voluntarily provided a DNA sample to the Department of Defense (DoD) in hopes his uncle might one day be located.
During early August 2017, two relatives of Dale W. Ross: nephew Dale W. Ross (nephew and namesake) and Peggy Freitas (niece) with Donna Esposito and Justin Taylan of Pacific Wrecks traveled to Guadalcanal and visited Barana. At the village, Willie Bessi Davis and Henry Davis presented the family members with the pair of dog tags marked "Dale W. Ross" and human remains they located nearby. That same day, the relatives turned them over to an investigation team team (IT) from Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) on Guadalcanal. Both the dog tags and remains were accepted as part of a unilateral turnover.
On August 7, 2017 the possible remains and dog tags were part of a repatriation ceremony and flown aboard USCG C-130H from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal to Hickam AFB where they were accessioned by the Central Identification Laboratory (CIL) at Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). Officially, Major Jessie Romero stated to the Associated Press (AP) "Until a complete and thorough analysis of the remains is done by our lab, we are unable to comment on the specific case associated to the turnover". Since then, the potential remains are awaiting DNA testing, the family members were advised this process "could take years", despite the fact the pair of dog tags was recovered and the family members were already located and had already provided DNA samples.
Identification
On April 16, 2019 the Department of Defense (DoD) announced
the identification of Dale W. Ross. More details will be forthcoming after a briefing with the primary next of kin during early May 2019. To identify Ross’ remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis.
Memorials
Ross was officially declared dead on January 14, 1943. He earned the Bronze Star and Purple Heart, posthumously. He is memorialized at Manila American Cemetery on the tablets of the missing.
After his remains were identified, he was buried on September 7, 2019 at Memory Gardens Memorial Park in Medford, Oregon. His grave is located in the Ross family plot next to his mother, father and brothers.
Ashland High School
has a memorial plaque 1941 that reads "In memory of those from the Ashland Public School who gave their lives in WWII" with twelve names including Dale Ross. The plaque donated by the Ashland High School Class of 1941.
Relatives
Charles Irvin Ross 1915-1977, US Navy veteran (brother)
Clifford Elmer "Cliff" Ross 1918-1994, US Army veteran (brother)
Calvin A. Ross 1923-2002, US Navy veteran (brother)
Dale W. Ross (nephew and namesake of Dale W. Ross)
Peggy Freitas (niece of Dale W. Ross)
Vicki Plankenhorn (niece of Dale W. Ross)
References
The Rogue for 1938 [Ashland High School Yearbook] page 15 Juniors (photo)
U. S. Draft Registration Card - Dale W. Ross July 1, 1941
NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Clifford E. Ross
NARA World War II Army Enlistment Records - Dale W. Ross
Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) - Dale W. Ross
(Page 8) "Proceedings of Board of Review
a. Personnel Involved (AGRS-PAZ Case No. 7-1687) Ross, Dale W. PFC 39307184 USA
b. Private First Class Ross was reported as Killed In Action on the west slope of Hill 27 (Mt. Austen), Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands on 14 January 1943. He was not seen after an engagement with a small Japanese patrol when shots were heard in the vicinity in which he was last seen. Although a prolonged search was made for Private Ross when the engagement was concluded, the results were negative. (Exhibits B - D)
c. On 9 February 1949, members of the 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company led by a native chief arrived at Mt. Auson [sic] in search of further information concerning this case. It was found that Mt. Austen was covered with grass 6 to 10 feet tall, and only a few foxholes were located. The team searched from the top of Mt. Austen down to the Matanikau River, but no identifying equipment or remains could be found in the entire area on the western slope (Exhibit E)"
(Page 13) Exhibit D - Records of Events January 14th & 15th, 1943 of the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry at the Gifu Strongpoint, Guadalcanal, SI - January 14th [1943] intensive paroling to the front was continued by all companies. Malaria accounted for more each day and the Battalion was then at about 75% strength. Infiltration through the lanes had ceased and the sniping was not as active as it had been the previous days. The artillery and 81 mm mortars have fire intermittently into the pocket every night since the 8th. It and the hand grenades at night did not allow the enemy much rest. Anti Tank Company was attached to the 2nd Battalion and was placed into the line between companies F and G."
Medford Mail Tribune "Ashland Youth Among Missing on Guadalcanal" April 6, 1943
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) - Dale W. Ross
FindAGrave - PFC Dale W Ross (tablets of the missing photo)
FindAGrave - PFC Dale Warren Ross (grave Memory Gardens Memorial Park)
35th Infantry Regiment Association "Cacti" - PFC Dale W. Ross - In memory of our fallen brother
"The 35th Infantry Regiment Association salutes our fallen brother, PFC Dale W. Ross, who died in the service of his country on January 13th, 1943 in Guadalcanal. The cause of death was listed as MIA/KIA. At the time of his death Dale was 22 years of age. He was from Jackson County, Oregon."
Ashland Daily Tidings "Ashlanders gave lives in some of WWII’s bloodiest battles" by Lynne Hasselman October 6, 2015
"Pfc. Dale W. Ross didn't think when he was assigned to the 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, he would be embroiled in the carnage known as Guadalcanal. An Ashland High School graduate, Dale was a good-looking young man with brown hair and blue eyes and a steady girlfriend. He excelled at cross country, running for miles through the quiet countryside. He knew his way up and down every street in town.
When Dale landed, Guadalcanal was already covered with denuded and blackened palm trees and torched vegetation. The terrain was ominous even for a well-trained athlete — rugged mountains, dormant volcanoes, vine-laden ravines and deep streams. Though torrential rains, knee-deep sticky mud, and mosquitoes carrying malaria and dengue fever, Dale ran on, delivering battle messages to commanders.
It was here on Mount Austen, the highest point on Guadalcanal where the timberline ended and the grassland began, that four days into the fierce fighting, Dale ran his last race. On Jan. 14, 1943, he was killed in an area pocketed by foxholes and obscured by grass growing 10 feet high. His remains were never recovered.
Today, Guadalcanal’s lowlands are once again covered with leafy palm trees, its rolling, green terrain home to parrots and kingfishers, and its course grasses scattered through with wildflowers that dance and weave in the wind. In a different time and place, it would be easy to imagine Dale running up Guadalcanal’s winding trails and narrow paths. At the top of Mount Austen, he could look out over the verdant hills all the way to the ocean."
Ashland Daily Tidings "We Regret to Inform You: Remembering 57 Ashlanders who served in WWII and didn’t return" November 15, 2015
"Dale W. Ross, Pvt. 1st Class, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division"
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following WWII for the UNITED STATES ARMY
"Ross, Dale W / PFC / 39307184 / 1/14/1943 / 35 Infantry 25 Division / Oregon / Solomon Islands"
Service Personnel Not Recovered Following WWII from OREGON
"Ross, Dale W / PFC / 39307184 / 1/14/1943 / 35 Infantry 25 Division / Oregon / Solomon Islands"
Fold3 - Dale W. Ross
New York Daily News "Dog tags, possible remains of WWII soldier found on South Pacific island" by Chris Carola, AP August 17, 2017
Mail Tribune "Missing No More" August 23, 2017
DoD News Release No: 19-058 "Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Ross, D.)" April 18, 2019
"Army Pfc. Dale W. Ross, killed during World War II, was accounted for on April 16, 2019. (Official DoD release will be updated following Primary Next of Kin briefing.) In January 1943, Ross was a member of Company E, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, serving in the Pacific Theater. He was reported missing in action on Jan. 14, 1943, following a patrol in the vicinity of Hill 27, Mount Austen, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. A search was conducted, but fellow Soldiers were unable to locate his remains. On July 14, 1949, based on a lack of information, the U.S. Army determined Ross to be non-recoverable."
DoD News Release No: 19-058 May 13, 2019 "Soldier Accounted For From World War II (Ross, D.)
"The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. Dale W. Ross, 22, of Ashland, Oregon, killed during World War II, was accounted for on April 16, 2019. To identify Ross’ remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used Y-chromosome DNA (Y-STR) analysis."
Ashland Times "Closure At Last: World War II remains positively identified as those of an Ashland soldier" April 22, 2019
Mail Tribune "WWII soldier is coming home" April 25, 2019
Thanks to Dale Ross, Peggy Freitas, Vicki Plankenhorn, Donna Esposito and Justin Taylan and William "Willie" Bessi Devis for additional information.
