Charles Perlick

9Jun1916 – 16Dec1943

Edison Days

Charles attended Edison but withdrew without graduating.

Military Service

Rank: Private First Class

Branch: United States Army

Unit: HQ Company – 1st Battalion – 179th Infantry Regiment – 45th Infantry Division

Charles enlisted in the Army on 20Apr1942. No records of his time in basic training or from his early military career have been located.

It is also unknown as to when Charles joined the 179th Infantry Regiment.

In December 1943 Charles and the 179th Infantry were in the Winter Line fight in the mountains northwest of Venafro, Italy.

The regiment’s fight was centered on Hill 769, the village of Lagone, La Bandita (Hill 855), and the draws and knobs that controlled the Filignano–Sant’Elia road. Hill 769 was the keystone of the German forward defenses in that sector. The 179th already held the forward slopes while the Germans still clung to the reverse slope, the village, and the surrounding high ground. The German positions were well defended with machine-gun bunkers cut into rock, mortar positions on reverse slopes, mines, and mutually supporting fire positions.

The U.S. VI Corps launched a coordinated attack on December 15th. The 179th’s assigned task was to clear the Lagone draw while the 157th Infantry attacked from Hill 640 toward Fialla Hill. Charles’ 1st Battalion had been pushing toward Lagone and northwest toward La Bandita since late November.

December 16th was the second day of the attack. The fight consisted of small-unit attacks, patrols into the draws, and continued pressure to finish clearing the hill of Germans open the mountain road toward Sant’Elia. While Charles’ Headquarters Company should have been relatively safe and behind the front lines, German artillery fire found his position.

It was on the 2nd day that Charles was killed in action by artillery fire.

Charles was initially buried in a temporary military cemetery near Vairano Patenora, Italy.