F3c Charles Jr. Caldwell

Charles Caldwell Jr. was born on April 21, 1921 on his parents’ farm at Milan in north central Missouri. He was the oldest of seven children born to Ramah Simpson Caldwell and Charles Border Caldwell.

The family suffered death early on. A daughter, Dwyla, was one when she died of cholera in 1925. A son, William, was five months old when he died of acute enterocolitis exactly a year later.

As for most families, the Great Depression was difficult for the Caldwells. Charles Jr. graduated from Milan High School in 1939. By the time of the spring 1940 Census Milan’s population was just over 2,000. Both father and son were timekeepers for federal road-construction projects. Charles Jr. worked 16 weeks in 1939 for the National Youth Administration and earned $56. His dad worked 27 weeks for the Works Progress Administration and earned $350. Their wages supported a household of seven.

Charles Jr. enlisted in the Navy on Oct. 15, 1940, and was a fireman third class on the U.S.S. Arizona when he was killed in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

His father was an infantryman in France during World War I. His brother Robert served in the Navy during World War II, and his brother Keith in the Army during the Korean War.

Note that Charles’ middle name is uncertain, which is turn raises the question of whether he was a junior.  The father’s full name was Charles Border Caldwell, according to his obituary and grave marker. When the son applied to the Navy, he twice signed his name Charles Shelton Caldwell. But someone then crossed out the middle name and added Jr. When young Charles signed his actual enlistment paper he wrote Charles Caldwell Jr. His birth certificate simply says Charles Caldwell.