March 11, 1949

The body of Brigadier General William Orlando Darby was returned to Arkansas. Darby, who was born in Fort Smith (Sebastian County) and who died in Italy in 1945 from combat wounds and was buried originally in a military cemetery outside Cisterno, Italy, was reinterred at Fort Smith National Cemetery just a few blocks from his boyhood home. After graduating from West Point, Darby had been chosen to organize, train, and lead an elite commando unit known as the First United States Ranger Battalion and was known as an exemplary leader. He was promoted to brigadier general two weeks after he died, the only soldier to have received such a posthumous promotion.