Charles H Coolidge Sr
Charles was born in Signal Mountain, Tennessee, on the 4th of August 1921. Growing up near Chattanooga, he attended and graduated from Chattanooga High School in 1939 and went to work for his father’s printing business as a bookbinder. Charles was drafted into the US Army in June of 1942, at the age of 21, and he attended basic training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. After basic training, he was assigned to M Company, 3rd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, 36th Infantry Division at Camp Butler, North Carolina, before deploying to Europe. Charles moved through Italy by way of Algeria and earned the Silver Star for his actions on the 31st of May 1944. Five months later, he was in France and once again displayed actions of gallantry, this time earning him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
Leading a section of heavy machine guns supported by one platoon of Company K, he took a position near Hill 623, east of Belmont-sur-Buttant, France, 24 October 1944, with the mission of covering the right flank of the 3d Battalion and supporting its action. TSgt. Coolidge went forward with a sergeant of Company K to reconnoiter positions for coordinating the fires of the light and heavy machine guns. They ran into an enemy force in the woods estimated to be an infantry company. TSgt. Coolidge, attempting to bluff the Germans by a show of assurance and boldness, called upon them to surrender, whereupon the enemy opened fire. With his carbine, TSgt. Coolidge wounded two of them. There being no officer present with the force, TSgt. Coolidge at once assumed command. Many of the men were replacements recently arrived; this was their first experience under fire. TSgt. Coolidge, unmindful of the enemy fire delivered at close range, walked along the position, calming and encouraging his men and directing their fire. The attack was thrown back. Through 24 and 26 October the enemy launched repeated attacks against the position of this combat group but each was repulsed due to TSgt. Coolidge's able leadership. On 27 October, German infantry, supported by two tanks, made a determined attack on the position. The area was swept by enemy small-arms, machine-gun, and tank fire. TSgt. Coolidge armed himself with a bazooka and advanced within 25 yards of the tanks. His bazooka failed to function and he threw it aside. Securing all the hand grenades he could carry, he crawled forward and inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing enemy. Finally it became apparent that the enemy, in greatly superior force, supported by tanks, would overrun the position. TSgt. Coolidge, displaying great coolness and courage, directed and conducted an orderly withdrawal, being himself the last to leave the position. As a result of TSgt. Coolidge's heroic and superior leadership, the mission of his combat group was accomplished throughout four days of continuous fighting against numerically superior enemy troops in rain and cold and amid dense woods.
Charles received the Medal of Honor from Major General Haislip on the 18th of June 1945, in a ceremony near Ulm, Germany. Returning home to the States, he married Frances in 1945 and the couple had three sons. Charles lived the rest of his life near Chattanooga and continued to work for the family business, Chattanooga Printing & Engraving. A highway and a park were named in his honor, and he received the Legion of Honour in 2006, as well as being inducted into the John Sevier Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution in 2015. Even though Charles suffered from multiple sclerosis for the second half of his life, he remained active in the community and also was married to Frances for 64 years, until her death in 2009. On the 6th of April 2021, Charles Henry Coolidge Sr died at the age of 99 years old. He was the last living recipient from the European theater of World War 2 and was the oldest living recipient. He is buried with his wife in the Chattanooga National Cemetery in Chattanooga, Tennessee: Section BB, Site 474-A.
