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Cornelius H. Charlton
Summary
Cornelius H. Charlton (July 24, 1929 – June 2, 1951) was a soldier in the United States Army during the Korean War. Sergeant Charlton posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions near Chipo-ri, South Korea on June 2, 1951.
Born to a coal mining family in West Virginia, Charlton enlisted in the Army out of high school in 1946. He was transferred to the segregated 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, fighting in the Korean War. During a battle for Hill 543 near the village of Chipo-ri, Charlton took command of his platoon after its commanding officer was injured, leading it on three successive assaults of the hill. Charlton continued to lead the attack until the Chinese position was destroyed, at the cost of his life. For these actions, Charlton was awarded the medal.
In the following years, Charlton was honored numerous times, but was controversially not given a spot in Arlington National Cemetery, which his family claimed was due to racial discrimination. The controversy attracted national attention before Charlton was finally reburied in Arlington in 2008.
Cornelius H. Charlton was born in Eastgulf, West Virginia on July 24, 1929. He was the eighth of 17 children born to Van Charlton, a coal miner, and Clara (née Thompson) Charlton, a housewife. Cornelius briefly moved to Coalwood, West Virginia in 1940 to live with his brother, Arthur. In 1944, the family moved to The Bronx in New York City, New York as Van Charlton became the superintendent of an apartment building. Cornelius Charlton enrolled in James Monroe High School. Friends and family knew Charlton as "Connie."
Charlton indicated a desire to join the United States Army from a young age; in high school he begged his parents to allow him to drop out and enlist, wanting to fight in World War II, but his parents refused. When Charlton graduated from high school in 1946, he remained committed to joining the Army, so his parents signed the papers allowing 17-year-old Charlton to enlist.
Charlton left for Basic Combat Training in November 1946.
Official source
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