Name:
Charles H. Copeland
DOB:
August 7, 1924
Hometown:
Van Buren, Arkansas
Drafted:
Yes
Year:
1943
Unit:
Company "G" 276th regiment
 

Medals

Combat Infantryman Badge, EAMETO ribbon with 5 bronze battle stars, Good Conduct Medal.

History

He took his basic training at Camp Adair, Oregon. Was shipped to Camp Shanks, New York to be shipped overseas. He arrived in Glasgow, Scotland, then to Bristol England, and finally to Plymouth, England where he trained for the D-Day landings. He landed on Omaha Beach on about D plus 3. He was a casualty replacement. Attached and assigned to whatever unit needed him. He thought he remembered being attached to the 8th Armored Division for a while. He served and fought in Normandy around the St. Lo area. It was here, during an artillery barrage in a covered foxhole, that he read the letter telling him he was a father for the first time. He was eventually, permanently assigned to the V Corp Forward Headquarters Company where he finished out his service. He was involved in five campaigns while serving overseas: Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe. His overseas duties took him to Scotland, England, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Czechoslovakia. While in Germany he saw the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. He returned home in July of 1945. Went to Camp Jackson, South Carolina, then to Camp Stewart, Georgia where he was discharged on October 15, 1945. After the war he finished his GED. Worked for a variety of places, but eventually worked for U.S. Forgecraft in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He worked for them over 30 years. He was the father of five children. Lived in and around his hometown the rest of his life. He died on December 16th, 2002 on the 58th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle Of The Bulge. A battle that he participated in.