S Sgt. Charles Thomas King

35516666

C Company, 329th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division

June 8, 1921 - October 25, 1944

S Sgt. Charles Thomas King

35516666

C Company, 329th Infantry Regiment
83rd Infantry Division

Biography

Charles Thomas King was born June 8, 1921 in Hartford, Kentucky to Charles King and Martha Hunter. He had several brothers and sisters among which William H King, John P King, Caroline King, Ann King and Nancy King. Before joining the military Charles King had married Jean Cookingham and together they had two children, Patricia Jean King born in 1941 and Robert Owen King born in 1942. In February 1942 Charles King was registered for the draft and he was eventually drafted in October 1942. He joined the military out of Cleveland, Ohio on October 12, 1942. It is unclear when he joined the 83rd but it is safe to assume he was an original member of the unit and trained with them at Camp Atterbury.

Military Service

Because Charles King was member of C Company, 329th Infantry Regiment it is possible to reconstruct his journey through Europe. The unit left England on June 18, 1944 boarding the HMT Cheshire in Plymouth and eventually disembarked on Omaha Beach four days later on June 22 joining the effort to liberate Europe. From here the 83rd Infantry Division relieved the 101st Airborne near Carentan and saw its first combat early July, 1944. During this first month the 83rd suffered heavy casualties in the hedgerow fighting.

After the Allied Breakthrough out of Normandy, the 1st Battalion of 329th Infantry Regiment joined the effort to liberate the city of St. Malo in Brittany, France. The 83rd accepted the surrender of the citadel on August 17, 1944 and two days later it was moved by truck to the vicinity of Angers, 120 miles SE. The mission of the 329th was to organize and defense their sector along the Loire river, sending out patrols and accepting German prisoners. On September 25, 1944 the 329th completed another move, this time it brought them 300 miles towards Luxemburg. 1st Battalion, along with the remainder of the 329th and the 83rd took up positions along the Moselle River defending the 3rd Army's flank and sending out patrols.

Moselle River and Death

The move by the 329th towards Luxemburg city was completed on September 25, 1944. The regiment took over positions previously held by the 112th Infantry Regiment (28th Division) and was responsible for a sector running from Ahn to Echternach along the Moselle river. The left boundary, which was also the divional and the 3rd army left boundary ran along the line Echternach-Luxemburg. The main objective for the unit at this time was to drive the Germans over the Moselle river, and to actively patrol the sector it was responsible for. After C Company entered Grevenmacher on October 5, 1944 a rather static period started. Most the time was spend alternating between training, patrolling and pushing back German patrols that crossed the Moselle River.

By the end of October little had changed and C company was still active in the area of Grevenmacher. The events of October 25, 1944 illustrate that the men of the 329th were still in a very dangerous position. On that day, a five man patrol, led by Staff Sergeant Charles King entered a house in Grevenmacher and hit a booby trap. The other members of the patrol were Pvt James Eden, Pvt Lee Jeffrey, Pfc Clarence Brooks and Pvt Vernon Jacobsen. The blast of the mine killed S Sgt King who, as the NCO, might have been in the lead entering the house. Pvt James Eden was seriously wounded and send to the 30th Field Hospital but would succumb to his wounds later that same day. The other three members of the patrol received wounds as well, only Pvt Lee Jeffrey would return to the unit.

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