Tech Sergeant Charles Francis Carey Jr., A Soldier's Story
Tech Sergeant Charles Francis Carey Jr., A Soldier's Story
Tech Sergeant Charles Francis Carey Jr. was born on December 23, 1916, in Canadian, Oklahoma. During his childhood, he lived briefly with his grandmother at Fort Logan, Colorado, before his family settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming. As a young man, Carey worked as a general laborer and was assigned to Rawlins, Wyoming, at one point before entering military service.
In July 1944, as World War II intensified, Carey enlisted in the United States Army. He was assigned to the 395th Infantry Regiment and deployed to the European Theater, where Allied forces were pushing steadily through German-held territory.
On July 8, 1945, near the end of the war in Europe, Tech Sergeant Carey’s platoon's position in France was overwhelmed by an enemy force estimated at approximately 200 soldiers supported by twelve tanks. As the attack unfolded and communications broke down, Carey assumed immediate leadership under fire.
During the engagement, he organized and led patrols through intense enemy fire, rescuing two surrounded squads and evacuating wounded soldiers to safety. Seeing that an enemy-held house was providing cover for sniper fire and blocking movement, Carey assembled a small assault group and led an attack on the structure. He personally neutralized the enemy snipers, captured the position, and took sixteen enemy prisoners.
Despite the continuing assault, Tech Sergeant Carey then moved under pressure to support an adjacent unit, where he helped disable an enemy tank. On July 9, as enemy forces regrouped and began converging on the captured house, Carey once again placed himself in danger. He provided covering fire, allowing four members of his unit to withdraw safely. While escaping the position himself, he was mortally wounded.
For his conspicuous gallantry, fearless leadership, and extraordinary devotion to duty above and beyond the call of service, Tech Sergeant Charles Francis Carey Jr. was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
He is buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium. His actions stand among the highest examples of individual courage and self-sacrifice demonstrated by American soldiers during World War II.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
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