RANGERS 2 Carrier, Charles Leonard

[John Robertson]

• SURNAME

Carrier ​

• FORENAME

Charles Leonard ​

• UNIT

1 Ranger Infantry Company (Airborne) ​

• RANK

Major ​

• NUMBER

0-395468 ​

• DATE OF DEATH

30th September 1951 ​

• AGE

35 ​

• GRAVESITE

National Memorial Cemetery,Honolulu,Hawaii Courts of the Missing ​

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

from Sedgwick County,Kansas​

born 30.3.1916​

mother Cora O (nee Kelly) Carrier (1897-1974)​

wife Georgia Evelyn (nee Grove) Womack (1919-2013)​

served WW2​

POW 19.5.1951 South Korea​

died as POW​

body not recovered​

memorial grave marker at​

Cedar Point Cemetery,Cedar Point,Chase County,Kansas​

Korean War Veterans Memorial, Wall of Remembrance, Washington, D.C. Panel 84​

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The following Biography was furnished by John Girolmo, who was a platoon Sgt. under Capt. Carrier at the time of his capture by the Chinese. Mr. Girolmo was also wounded at this time.​

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Biography​

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Ranger Major Charles L. Carrier​

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Charles Leonard Carrier was born in Baldwin, Kansas, on March 30, 1916, and named after his father, a streetcar motorman. Charles, his mother and little sister, had to carry on without his father after 1925, and at this early age, a sense of caring, responsibility, and independence was established. During his school years, he worked on a farm – planting and harvesting, with the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) –reforestation, and as a messenger with Western Union. "He was loyal and devoted; he was reliable and a hard worker, and his natural leadership began to emerge".​

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He graduated from high school in 1933. During the depression years of the 30's he worked for Boeing and Beechcraft Co's, as a truckdriver for a lumberyard, a taxi driver, and shoveled snow from streets to make a buck for the family. "He was energetic, with a big smile, and liked by all". He married Evelyn Grove in Sept. 1937.​

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He also enlisted in the Kansas National Guard 137th Inf in 1932. He studied and completed a dozen of Army Extension Courses, e.g. Military Discipline and Law, Map and Aerial Photo, Org. of the Army and Infantry, Sanitation and First Aid, etc..With his keen interest in the military, he advanced through the non-commissioned ranks to Sgt, and commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant Inf. on June 1940 in the Nat'l Guard of the US.​

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Placed on active duty Dec 23, 1940, he was assigned to the 137th Inf , at Camp Robinson, Ark, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant Inf. AUS, June, 1941. His federal service was extended for the duration with the onset of WWII, and he was assigned as Commander of L Co, 58th Inf. at Ft Lewis Wash. in June 1942, and later transferred to the 37th Inf.. He spent 20 months in Alaska – Aleutians, guarding our defenses in the northern frontier. He was promoted to Captain in Aug 1943. He returned to the mainland early in 1944, and volunteered for parachute trng with the Parachute School , Ft Benning, Ga.. He earned his jump wings, was certified as an expert infantryman and remained with the 2nd Parachute Trng Rgmt for the basic training of paratroop units until July 1945. He started for the Pacific Theatre, and a few days later, at sea, the war ended, and Captain Carrier was released from active duty early 1946.​

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Returning to farming, he experienced the joy and the disappointments. He remained in the Nat'l Guard, became involved with the church, and started to raise a family, with the birth of his son, Lance. "All was fine, but Charles felt his destiny was in the military, and his training could be more useful there than on a Kansas farm". He returned to Army life in the fall of 1948, on extended active duty with Birmingham Alabama USA and USAF Rcrtg Dist., and later Hqtrs Birmingham Military Dist. He received commendations and Certificates of Achievements for his performance while there. "The Korean War started in mid 1950, and Charles became interested in the conflict. He studied maps of Korea and learned of the inadequate training of our troops, and felt he could make a difference. His position with recruiting could have continued, but with his paratrooper training, he felt called to take his place with the Airborne Rangers being organized at Fort Benning Ga".​

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By mid Nov 1950, he had started his training with the 5th Ranger Co., and then he was transferred to the Far East Command in late Jan 1951, and for the next few weeks Ranger Carrier was an official air courier for McArthur's Hdqts. On March 6th he became Company Commander of the 1st Ranger Co. "most of the men have been in battle, and I have an excellent group of officers, but many of the men are due for rotation. We have many patrols to do and missions to be accomplished. Most of Ranger work is at night".​

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On May 17,1951, the 1st Ranger Co, was ordered to plug a gap in the line, when the 2nd Div was being attacked and overrun by several Chinese armies. During this "May Massacre", after sustaining many casualties, and after completing the mission, Ranger Carrier was captured along with others.These units were awarded the Presidential Unit for their bravery and outstanding performance in this holding action. Later he tried to escape but was recaptured. Public records (Stars and Stripes, Aug 1951) by two witnesses(one from the 1st Ranger Co) tells of the brave Ranger Captain that was tortured in the Red Torture Hole. "They kept him tied up in a hole, they would question him all night and get him up at dawn and make him climb mountains with a heavy bag on his back. He would tell us not to give in to them. The Chinese were trying to find out why the Rangers were in Korea and how they operated. The Captain swore he would never tell them. They had a special way of tying him up with ropes. They would pinch his arms off, the ropes were so tight. Then they would run the line around his throat and put the end over a beam so that if he moved, he would choke. But he wouldn't give in. He would say over and over, you've got my name, rank, and serial number, and that all you get, and that's all they ever did get. They would lead him to the latrine, and you could see he was bruised and swollen all over, but we never heard him scream. They would keep him in the hole tied like a hog and the rain would fall in on him until he was lying in inches of mud. But when they brought him out, he would be holding up his head, proud like. He knew we were pulling for him, and he didn't want to let us down. We all got to sort of love the Captain. He was like a symbol, something to hold on to. The last time they saw the Captain, he said they were taking him North for more questioning. He looked beaten and haggard. But he still wouldn't tell anything."​

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The Captain was moved to the Suan Mining Camp for two months and then because of continuing interest, - to Paks Palace at Pyongyang, where he died on Sept 30,1951, from previous abuse and residual poor treatment, and he was buried there. He was promoted to Major Aug 29, 1951.​

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Awarded and eligibility for, Major Carriers decorations include Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Wings, American Theatre of Operations, WWII Victory, Overseas Defense, Korean War Campaign with Star, UN Service Medal , POW Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Korean War Service Medal.​