Providence World War II veteran to be buried in Florida

LAKE WORTH, Fla. (WLNE) — The U.S. Army Public Affairs Office said that a soldier from Rhode Island who was killed during World War II will be interred at South Florida National Cemetery on Sept. 13.

Human Resources Command Spokesperson Fonda Bock said Pfc. Roy J. Searle was a native of Providence and was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division during the war.

He was mortally wounded on Dec. 9, 1944, when his unit attempted to capture and hold the towns of Pachtener Kopfe and Rehlingen, Germany. He was 22 years old.

Bock said that Searle’s remains were accounted for by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency on Sept. 27, 2022.

Boynton Memorial Chapel will perform graveside services before Searle’s internment.