Sergeant Cornelius Charlton, A Soldier's Story
Sergeant Cornelius Charlton, A Soldier's Story
Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton was born on July 24, 1929, in East Gulf, West Virginia. His family later relocated to Brooklyn, New York, where he graduated from James Monroe High School.
From a young age, Charlton was drawn to military service. Immediately after graduation in 1946, at just 17 years old and with his parents’ permission, he enlisted in the United States Army.
His early assignments took him overseas and across the country, to Allied-occupied Germany, Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and later Okinawa, Japan. But when war broke out in Korea in 1950, Charlton did not hesitate. He requested a transfer to a combat unit and was assigned to the 24th Infantry Regiment, one of the Army’s segregated units.
On June 2, 1951, during Operation Piledriver near Chipo-ri, Korea, Charlton’s unit was ordered to seize Hill 543, a heavily fortified enemy position. The assault was fierce.
Advancing under intense enemy fire, Charlton repeatedly reorganized his platoon and pressed forward. When his platoon leader became a casualty, Charlton assumed command without hesitation. He led his men up the slope despite concentrated fire from entrenched enemy positions.
After personally attacking and destroying one enemy bunker, Charlton was wounded by grenade shrapnel. He refused evacuation.
Instead, he continued the assault, moving forward alone to silence a final enemy position that was pinning down his men. While attacking the bunker, he was mortally wounded. His actions cleared the way for his unit to seize Hill 543.
For extraordinary heroism and leadership above and beyond the call of duty, Sergeant Cornelius H. Charlton was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. Yet even in death, injustice followed him.
Initially buried in the segregated Bryant Memorial Cemetery in West Virginia, his resting place reflected the racial divisions he had lived and fought through. Public protests and American Legion intervention led to reinterment in Beckley, West Virginia. Finally, after continued advocacy and the correction of bureaucratic wrongs, Sergeant Charlton was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
He had led from the front in life. And in death, the nation slowly learned to honor him properly. Sergeant Cornelius Charlton was 21 years old.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
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