Post by connie on May 22, 2020 9:54:13 GMT -5
Purington, Charles O., PFC 423 H. Machine gunner; POW IV-B and more
This member the 106th Infantry Division passed away on May 16, 2020.
Obituary From Augusta Georgia: www.legacy.com/obituaries/recorder/obituary.aspx?n=charles-purington&pid=196218316&fhid=5407. Thank you yo Jim West for finding the notification.
Below are quotes from his obituary, related to his military service. But final paragraphs of the full obituary are worth reading if you'd like to gain insights into this man's character.
Charles O Purington, a WWII Veteran, Purple Heart recipient and former POW, who was fondly known by his friends as Charlie or Chas, passed away on Saturday, May 16, 2020... He was born in Greenfield Massachusetts in 1925 and was raised through his formative years through the great depression. This experience would impact the way he lived his life and raised his family.
Charles volunteered to join the Army after completing high school and was selected for the officers training school beginning of the school year in 1943. Due to the war this program was closed, and he was transferred to the infantry where he would serve as a machine gunner with the 106th Infantry Division.*
In the Army Charles quickly distinguished himself by receiving a commendation before entering battle when he and another solider, PFC Alfred Colebourn, captured two escaped German soldiers while stationed in England.**
From there his unit was deployed to Belgium and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. Charles was captured on December 19th, 1944 by the Germans after his squad was killed in a mortar attack.
Charles and the rest of the prisoners were sent to a POW camp located in Eastern Germany via train, which was bombed by the Allies because it was thought to contain German soldiers.
Eventually Charles and other POWs were put to work in a factory making blankets for German soldiers. He would end up being sent to a total of three POW camps. While at the last POW camp the POWs noticed that during severe thunder storms the Germans turned off the electric fences. During the next storm, the POWs cut a hole in the fence and escaped.
Charles spent the remaining months of the war with Russian soldiers, our allies in WWII. Charles, who had been reported missing initially in the Greenfield paper after the 106th division was listed as annihilated, returned home aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Charles never talked about the war, the only reason we have this much information is he agreed to be interviewed by one of his grandsons and his heroism was finally documented.
*Note: The cancelled training program referred to here was probably the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/2237/thread
A number of men in assigned to the 106th Infantry Division had been in this program before it was cancelled
** Note There is a PFC Alfred V. Colburn Jr. 423 H (note spelling difference in last name) listed in the Roster. It is likely that this is the soldier referred to in this account.
Roster: 106thinfdivassn.org/roster106/rostera.html
source of unit/ rank information & POW locations:
Also see Stalag IV-B: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4946/thread
This member the 106th Infantry Division passed away on May 16, 2020.
Obituary From Augusta Georgia: www.legacy.com/obituaries/recorder/obituary.aspx?n=charles-purington&pid=196218316&fhid=5407. Thank you yo Jim West for finding the notification.
Below are quotes from his obituary, related to his military service. But final paragraphs of the full obituary are worth reading if you'd like to gain insights into this man's character.
Charles O Purington, a WWII Veteran, Purple Heart recipient and former POW, who was fondly known by his friends as Charlie or Chas, passed away on Saturday, May 16, 2020... He was born in Greenfield Massachusetts in 1925 and was raised through his formative years through the great depression. This experience would impact the way he lived his life and raised his family.
Charles volunteered to join the Army after completing high school and was selected for the officers training school beginning of the school year in 1943. Due to the war this program was closed, and he was transferred to the infantry where he would serve as a machine gunner with the 106th Infantry Division.*
In the Army Charles quickly distinguished himself by receiving a commendation before entering battle when he and another solider, PFC Alfred Colebourn, captured two escaped German soldiers while stationed in England.**
From there his unit was deployed to Belgium and participated in the Battle of the Bulge. Charles was captured on December 19th, 1944 by the Germans after his squad was killed in a mortar attack.
Charles and the rest of the prisoners were sent to a POW camp located in Eastern Germany via train, which was bombed by the Allies because it was thought to contain German soldiers.
Eventually Charles and other POWs were put to work in a factory making blankets for German soldiers. He would end up being sent to a total of three POW camps. While at the last POW camp the POWs noticed that during severe thunder storms the Germans turned off the electric fences. During the next storm, the POWs cut a hole in the fence and escaped.
Charles spent the remaining months of the war with Russian soldiers, our allies in WWII. Charles, who had been reported missing initially in the Greenfield paper after the 106th division was listed as annihilated, returned home aboard the Queen Elizabeth. Charles never talked about the war, the only reason we have this much information is he agreed to be interviewed by one of his grandsons and his heroism was finally documented.
*Note: The cancelled training program referred to here was probably the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/2237/thread
A number of men in assigned to the 106th Infantry Division had been in this program before it was cancelled
** Note There is a PFC Alfred V. Colburn Jr. 423 H (note spelling difference in last name) listed in the Roster. It is likely that this is the soldier referred to in this account.
Roster: 106thinfdivassn.org/roster106/rostera.html
source of unit/ rank information & POW locations:
Also see Stalag IV-B: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/4946/thread