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Grave marker for Charles
A. Yates in the Valley Memorial Park, Novato (Marin county), California.
Charles enlisted at San
Francisco, CA on 2 December 1941 after completion of his first two years
of college.
On 23 June 1944 1st Lt
Yates was transferred from 82nd Airborne HQ to Service Company, 508th
PIR. a month later he was transferred to Company B as a platoon
leader.
In August 1944 he was
again transferred, this time to Hq Hq again as a platoon leader.
He was wounded in Holland
on 17 October 1944 and after hospitalization, returned to Hq Hq..
On 14 March 1945, Lt Yates
had the misfortune of being the jumpmaster on a C-47 that lost a prop
during a practice jump in Reims, France. The aircraft snagged the chutes
of some troopers on its wings and tail as it fell to the ground.
He exited the aircraft
successfully but both of his chutes only partially inflated. He
suffered four bone breaks in the knee, ankle and thigh
He was transferred from
the 241st General Hospital in Camp Sissonne, France to the Parachute
Replacement Regiment, Parachute School, Ft Benning, GA where his leg
length was reduced by 1 1/2 inches due to removal of shattered bone that
could not be repaired. |
