Charles C. Carpenter

  • ASN:
    0-1310219
  • DATE OF BIRTH
    Dec 10, 1913
  • DATE OF DEATH
    Jun 12, 1944
FULL NAME:

Charles C. Carpenter

ARMY SERIAL NUMBER (ASN):

0-1310219

  • DATE OF BIRTH: Dec 10, 1913
  • DATE OF DEATH: Jun 12, 1944
RESIDENCE (DURING WWII):

Monongahela, Pennsylvania

DATE / PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:
  • DATE OF ENLISTMENT:
    Dec 1941
  • PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:
    Monongahela, Pennsylvania
ORGANIZATION:
  • MAIN UNIT:
    23rd Infantry Regiment
  • SUBUNIT:
    Company C, 1st Battalion
RANK / POSITION IN UNIT (LAST KNOWN):
  • RANK:
    First Lieutenant (1st Lt.)
  • POSITION IN UNIT:
    Platoon Leader
BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS:

✭ Normandy Campaign (6 June – 24 July 1944)

DECORATIONS AND CITATIONS (AWARDS):

🎖Bronze Star Medal, 🎖Purple Heart

SUMMARY OF HIS SERVICE:

As a child he was the mascot for the local National Guard. He proudly served in the guard and then enlisted in active duty after Pearl Harbor although his age meant he was not expected to enlist - so he was very patriotic and unwilling to let his friends go to war with out his support.

He was active with the with National Guard (age 18) and enlisted in the US Army in 1941; he was sent to OCS at Ft. Benning then assigned to the 110th and trained in Paris, Texas. He shipped out to England with the 110th. In May 1944, he was reassigned as a platoon leader of Company C, 23rd Infantry, 2nd ID. He shipped out of Swansea and landed D-Day+2. 3 ships from sailed from Swansea on the 7th - the Borinquen, the George S. Simonds and the George W. Goethals. He was killed in Briens - near the Elle River - according to Maj. Spencer by friendly fire.

STATUS:
  • CATEGORY:
    Killed in action (KIA)
  • DATE:
    June 12, 1944
  • LOCATION:
    Along Elle river near Saint-Georges-d'Elle
  • NOTES:
    "It was the afternoon on June 12, 1944, when the men of Company C were just averting an attack by German paratroopers. Your grandfather´s 1st Battalion was stationed along Elle river near Saint-Georges-d'Elle. Lt. John McCutchen adjusted the elevation of 60mm mortar of Company C and fired three rounds on advancing German troops. Unfortunately, they were too short, 2 of the shells came down and burst right on the positions of your grandfather and his men. These two shells from friendly fire killed your grandfather and wounded his men who had been on the line firing at the enemy. When Lt. John McCutchen saw what he had done, he went berserk. Lt. McCutchen was killed by Germans fire only a few hours later on the very same day as 1st Lt. Carpenter," remembered by Major Henry G. Spencer. This story has never been officially confirmed though.
HONORED BY:

William M. Carpenter, Son

NARA - Display Full Records

File Unit: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 - 1946 (Enlistment Records)
in the Series: World War II Army Enlistment Records, created 6/1/2002 - 9/30/2002, documenting the period ca. 1938 - 1946. - Record Group 64 (info)

Brief Scope: This series contains records of approximately nine million men and women who enlisted in the United States Army, including the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps.

Source: aad.archives.gov/aad/
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